• Jared Kushner is reportedly pushing back on efforts to rein in the flow of information among White House staffers who do not have a full security clearance.
• The effort by White House chief of staff John Kelly is seen as a potential challenge to Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, who has been the subject of an ongoing background investigation for more than a year.
• Despite this, Kushner has enjoyed access to the same classified information President Donald Trump receives.

Jared Kusnher is said to be resisting an internal push at the White House to clamp down on the flow of classified information among staffers who do not hold a full security clearance, The New York Times reported Tuesday night.

The effort, led by White House chief of staff John Kelly is seen as a potential challenge to Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, who has been working with an interim security clearance because of an ongoing background investigation that has lasted more than a year.

Despite the issues with his background check, Kushner has enjoyed access to some of the same classified information as Trump — much like the ousted staff secretary Rob Porter, who was shown the door earlier this month over multiple accusations of domestic abuse. Porter also had a temporary security clearance.

Dozens of staffers in the White House are working without a full security clearance, according to multiple news reports. The matter has been a thorn in Kelly's side, most especially after the Porter incident, when the chief of staff gave conflicting answers about his knowledge of Porter's background-check issues.

The fallout from that is what's prompting the overhaul, which Kelly signed off on last week. The matter led Trump and some of his close allies to privately question whether Kelly should keep his job. The White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders insisted that Trump maintains full confidence in Kelly, but the apparent behind-the-scenes wrangling suggests that things are still in flux.

As the Times reporters Julie Hirschfield Davis and Maggie Haberman wrote, Kushner has been "frustrated about the security clearance issue" and felt like Kelly "has targeted him personally."

Kelly denied singling out Kushner, saying in a statement cited by The Times: "As I told Jared days ago, I have full confidence in his ability to continue performing his duties in his foreign policy portfolio." Kelly added that Kushner would still have access to information with the new security clearance process in place.

The matter is no less fraught in a Trump-led West Wing that is frequently jostled by internal conflict. Even as Kelly seeks to restore a sense of order, the knives have been out for him among people who have Trump's ear inside and outside the White House.

SEE ALSO: John Kelly signs off on a major overhaul of White House security clearance procedures

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How to make America great — according to one of the three cofounders of Black Lives Matter

• BNP Paribas has figured out a strategy that helps investors make money following volatility spikes.
• The market was recently jolted out of a period of complacency, and BNP says that it was a perfect example of the type of volatility increase that creates opportunity.

When the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) was awakened from its prolonged slumber earlier this month, the consensus was that it was a very bad thing for markets.

This was largely due to the cottage industry that had cropped up with the sole purpose of making a quick buck by shorting the VIX. That short-volatility trade blew up when the VIX jolted higher, causing the collapse of two wildly popular exchange-traded products, which in turn worsened equity selling.

But BNP Paribas argues that there was a profitable silver lining to the implosion — one that often presents itself following periods of considerable market turbulence. And the firm is here to help you make money using it.

BNP's strategy is activated when two qualifications are met: (1) the US economy is not in a recession and (2) the VIX rises more than 3.5 standard deviations above its one-year rolling average.

Once that occurs, the firm advises that traders enter a long-S&P 500 position the first time the VIX closes lower than the level when the signal first occurred. Since 1986, investors that abided by this strategy and held the trade for three months have made 5.2% on average, according to BNP data. And returns were positive for them 86% of the time.

As the above chart shows, BNP's strategy has resulted in a positive return not just on a three-month time horizon, but also on a one- and six-month basis.

Further, the first line of the table reflects the results of a trade that involves going long the S&P 500 five business days after the initial signal, while the third line shows a strategy that requires waiting until the VIX closes two standard deviations from the signal level. As you can see, they're both mostly profitable, but the middle approach — the one outlined above — is the most effective.

Still, if the short-volatility blow-up is any indication, trading the VIX can be a tough task if you don't know what you're doing. But BNP's methodology clearly establishes a series of steps that has proven lucrative over the past three decades — and it's hard to argue with that.

SEE ALSO: A new part of the market is melting down as panicked investors get another 'wake-up call'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'

• Scientists say they've come one step closer to growing human organs inside sheep and pigs.
• This process could some day make transplanting organs much less risky. 
• Researchers have already tried this technique by growing mice pancreas in rat hosts.

Scientists have come one step closer to breeding human organs inside sheep. But the resulting "sheeple" are not the scary, mythological creatures you might envision. 

In fact, the technique might one day save the lives of people with failing organs. The idea is that essential human body parts, like the pancreas or the kidney, could one day be grown inside the body of an animal like a sheep or a pig. Then those healthy parts could be transplanted back into people with end-stage organ failure. 

Geneticists and livestock experts from Stanford University and UC Davis recently implanted a small number of human stem cells into sheep embryos that they developed for a 28-day period. They're hoping that this successful small-scale trial will help them find a way to grow full-size replacement organs for human patients inside of sheep. 

The idea of human-animal mashups — called "chimeras"— has been with us, mythologically speaking, since the time of the ancient Greeks. But the scientific concept of a "chimera" is a bit different.

If fully developed, this "sheeple" technique would use human cells from the person in need of a transplant to grow bespoke organs inside of a sheep or pig. The animal would act somewhat like a living, breathing incubator for the new human body part. Once grown, the organ would get planted back into the person from whom the cells were originally taken. 

Establishing such a method could help health care providers around the world address a shortage of organs for transplants. Currently, more than 115,000 people are waiting for organ transplants in the US alone.

Stanford Geneticist Hiro Nakauchi, who's leading the new research, said the technique could also lower the risks of transplantation procedures and eventually pave the way for rejection-free organ transplantation.

"Although they are formed inside the body of animals, the cells are derived from a patient's own stem cells," Nakauchi told a crowd at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science over the weekend.

If there's less of a chance the body will reject an organ, patients would not have to take the taxing immunosuppresive drugs they usually do when they get donated organs from other people.

But there are a few big problems scientists have to solve before their organ-incubating idea becomes a reality.

First, they need to develop organ-growing sheep embryos for more than 28 days. That's a tough task, considering that the National Institutes of Health — the largest public cash source for biomedical research in the world — doesn't currently fund any research on human-animal chimeras.

Also, the sheep the researchers have bred so far have had a ratio of about one human embryo cell to every 10,000 sheep cells. That's a lot more than the previous 1-in-100,000 ratio that scientists achieved in pigs, but the team said it's still not sufficient to create a human organ.

The technique has, however, been tried successfully in diabetic mice. Scientists grew new, insulin-producing pancreas parts for the mice in rats. Then they transplanted those rat-grown parts into the mice, and the process seemed to effectively cure the mice's diabetes. 

But many of the people in need of organ transplants don't have years to wait around for this new technique to become feasible for humans. Twenty people die every day in the US while waiting for an organ transplant, and the waiting list for transplants continues to grow faster than organs are being donated.

Outside the lab, people around the world are starting to combat the organ shortage in other new ways. A Dutch law passed earlier this month proclaimed every citizen of that country an automatic organ donor unless they opt out of the national system. By comparison, only about half of all Americans are signed up to donate their organs.

SEE ALSO: Chinese scientists just cloned two monkeys, moving one step closer to cloning humans

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How to clone your dog for $100,000

Every fall, MIT Technology Review's editors get together to begin the months-long process of reviewing their coverage. The goal? To create a list of the top ten technological advances from the last year that will have the greatest longterm global impact on consumers.

While the editors do give key players a shout-out — Google, for example, dominates the list — the purpose of the annual compilation goes further than giving credit to innovating companies.

"This is our attempt to alert our readers: These are the technologies that you really need to or should pay attention to next year, and also going into the next few years," MIT Tech Review's editor David Rotman told Business Insider.

The timeline to commercial use can vary — this year's picks, for example, range from technologies that are currently on the market to ones that are still in the lab and just barely making headlines— but two things have to be certain: The technology must be "fundamentally new," and it needs to make a huge difference in the way we live for years to come. 

Here's the final list of the technologies and the key players making it happen:

SEE ALSO: The life and rise of billionaire investor Peter Thiel, Trump’s biggest Silicon Valley supporter — who might be moving to Los Angeles

3D Metal Printing: New machines are making 3D printing of metal parts practical for the first time.

Artificial Embryos: Scientists have begun to forge embryos out of stem cells.

Sensing City: Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs plans to create a high-tech district to rethink how we build and run cities.

Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours. Sign up here to get the best of Business Insider delivered direct to your inbox.

Hedge funds just made a big mistake on tech stocks.

Following the recent market correction, hedge funds and other large speculators made a poorly-timed decision to go net short tech stocks for the first time in 21 months. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 responded with a 5.6% gain, its best weekly performance since October 2014.

The prospect of rising inflation and the Federal Reserve's possible reaction to it is Wall Street's favorite new thing to worry about. And, after years of false alarms, "a sustained rise in inflation will hold the Fed's feet to the fire," according to Capital Economics.

Morgan Stanley says the stock market's meltdown was just an "appetizer"— here's how to protect against the next sell-off. Credit Suisse has identified what could be the next big breaking point for stocks.

Here's what else is happening today:

• JPMorgan is building a new headquarters in New York City
• Something unusual is going on with gold
• There's a surefire way to make a killing on the type of turmoil that sends stocks spiraling
• Amazon is zooming towards a record high
• Ex-JPMorgan trader turned bitcoin fund manager says ICOs are 'a better mousetrap' than IPOs — but only 5% are worth investing in
• A blunder at a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange let investors briefly buy bitcoins for free
• The South Korean government official in charge of cryptocurrency crackdown was found dead at his home

SpaceX is about to quietly launch the first 2 of nearly 12,000 satellites to blanket Earth in high-speed internet. Google has developed a way to predict your risk of a heart attack just by scanning your eye.

A startup is working with IBM's Watson to tell marketers exactly where they should spend their media budget, and it claims it "can predict the future." Tesla will face a reckoning this year if it doesn't make a fundamental change.

Silicon Valley is so expensive that people who make $400,000 a year think they are middle-class.

Lastly, we drove the $65,000 Audi S5 Coupe — and it's pretty much flawless.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Forget 'Make America Great Again' — Wharton professor says Trump has been terrible for America's brand

• The Winter Olympics ice hockey finals are nearly upon us. /strong>
• The women's gold medal game takes place at the Gangneung Ice Arena in South Korea on Thursday.The men's final gets underway at the same venue on Sunday.

The 2018 Winter Olympics may be nearing the finish line but not before the best hockey teams in the world thrash it out on the ice.

First up, is the women's ice hockey final. USA will take on Canada for top honours at the Gangneung Hockey Centre in South Korea on Thursday, local time in Pyeongchang.

The men's gold medal game is scheduled for Sunday, but not before Friday's semi-finals, when the Czech Republic takes on Russia, and Canada faces Germany. Our Winter Olympics coverage can be found here.

Here is the women's ice hockey final start times in major cities across different time zones:

• Pyeongchang in South Korea (KST): 1.10 p.m. (Thursday, February 22)
• New York (ET): 11.10 p.m. (Wednesday 21)
• Chicago (CT): 10.10 p.m. (Wednesday 21)
• Denver (MT): 9.10 p.m. (Wednesday 21)
• Las Vegas (PT): 8.10 p.m. (Wednesday 21)
• Los Angeles (PT): 8.10 p.m. (Wednesday 21)
• Honolulu (HAST): 6.10 p.m. (Wednesday 21)
• Sydney (AET): 3.10 p.m. (Thursday 22)
• Tokyo (JST): 1.10 p.m. (Thursday 22)
• Moscow (MSK): 7.10 a.m. (Thursday 22)
• Paris (CEST): 5.10 a.m. (Thursday 22)
• London (GMT): 4.10 a.m. (Thursday 22)

Here is the men's ice hockey final start times in major cities across different time zones:

• Pyeongchang in South Korea (KST): 1.10 p.m. (Sunday, February 25)
• New York (ET): 11.10 p.m. (Saturday 24)
• Chicago (CT): 10.10 p.m. (Saturday 24)
• Denver (MT): 9.10 p.m. (Saturday 24)
• Las Vegas (PT): 8.10 p.m. (Saturday 24)
• Los Angeles (PT): 8.10 p.m. (Saturday 24)
• Honolulu (HAST): 6.10 p.m. (Saturday 24)
• Sydney (AET): 3.10 p.m. (Sunday 25)
• Tokyo (JST): 1.10 p.m. (Sunday 25)
• Moscow (MSK): 7.10 a.m. (Sunday 25)
• Paris (CEST): 5.10 a.m. (Sunday 25)
• London (GMT): 4.10 a.m. (Sunday 25)

Ice hockey at the Pyeongchang games has already produced some gripping moments.

We have seen the North Korean cheerleading squad support the south's hockey team. We have witnessed the suspension of a Slovenian for violating doping rules. And we have seen the "heartbreaking" fall of the men's United States team— but there is still plenty of drama still to come.

Here's how to watch both matches live:

The 2018 Winter Olympics women's ice hockey final between Canada and USA will be broadcast in the US on the NBC Olympics website, as well as the NBC Sports app from 11.10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 21.

You can watch a live stream of the match right here.

The 2018 Winter Olympics men's ice hockey final will also be broadcast in the US on the NBC Olympics website, as well as the NBC Sports app from 11.10 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 24.

We will post a link here when an official live stream of the men's gold medal game is available.

In Britain, BBC One, BBC Red Button, and the BBC website will air the women's gold medal match as part of its live coverage between 0.00 a.m. and 6.00 a.m. GMT on Thursday, February 22.

BBC One, BBC Red Button, and the BBC website will also broadcast the men's gold medal match as part of its live coverage between 0.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m. GMT on Sunday, February 25.

SEE ALSO: Here's what time the 2018 Winter Olympics closing ceremony starts where you live

DON'T MISS: Churros, pranks, and hallway bobsleds: Here's what Winter Olympic athletes get up to when they're not competing

UP NEXT: The world's first ski tournament for robots was held near the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics — and the pictures are incredible

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: JIM ROSS: Here's who will take over WWE after Vince McMahon

• Wait times for Tesla's Model S sedan and Model X SUV have increased.
• If you order either vehicle today, they won't be delivered until June.
• Tesla says the delay is due to a spike in demand rather than production difficulties.

Tesla's struggle to produce and deliver the Model 3 has been one of the company's biggest challenges during the past year. So far, the company has delivered around 3,000 of the estimated 400,000 Model 3s that have been pre-ordered.

But the company recently increased wait times for its Model S sedan and Model X SUV as well, according to Electrek. If you custom order either vehicle today, it won't be delivered until June, according to the company's website. Though if you already own a Tesla vehicle, the delivery time may decrease.

Tesla confirmed to Business Insider that the Model S and X delays are due to an increase in demand for the vehicles rather than production difficulties. That's surprising, as some thought the Model 3, Tesla's most affordable car to date, would cannibalize sales of the S and X.

Tesla's fourth-quarter earnings report indicated the opposite may have happened, claiming that the presence of the Model 3 in Tesla stores increased foot traffic, which may have played a role in increasing Model S and X sales. While that logic makes sense, the magnitude of the increase in demand is significant, especially given the fact that Tesla delivered over 100,000 cars— the vast majority of which were either a Model S or X — for the first time in its history in 2017.

So the Model S and X delays aren't likely to hurt Tesla for now. In fact, having to wait a few extra months may further the idea that Tesla's vehicles are exclusive luxury products. 

But the Model 3 delays, which don't appear to be ending anytime soon, are another story.

SEE ALSO: The 12 coolest features inside the Tesla Model 3

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Amazon is shaking up a healthcare industry that's ripe for disruption

Join the conversation about this story »

Last week, special counsel Robert Mueller's office charged three Russian entities and 13 Russian nationals with "violating US criminal laws in order to interfere with US elections and political processes."

The indictment revealed for the first time the extent to which Russians tried to sow political discourse in the US in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.

The Russians weaponized social media to organize political rallies, both in support of and against certain candidates, according to the indictment. Although the Russians organized some rallies in opposition to Trump's candidacy, most were supportive.

"To conceal the fact that they were based in Russia, Defendants and their co-conspirators promoted these rallies while pretending to be U.S. grassroots activists who were located in the United States but unable to meet or participate in person," Mueller's indictment read.

The rallies, which began in June 2016, took place both before and after the 2016 election, spanning New York, Florida, and North Carolina.

Here are three examples of rallies organized by the Russians, as described in the indictment:

SEE ALSO: The Mueller indictments — here's which Russians were charged with interfering in the 2016 US election

DON'T MISS: There's a specific reason Trump leveled an unprecedented amount of frustration toward the Russia probe this weekend

June 25, 2016: New York

The Russians used a Facebook group called "Being Patriotic," the Twitter account @March_for_Trump, and other social media accounts to organize a pro-Trump rally in New York called "March for Trump."

To promote the rally, the Russians purchased ads on Facebook and privately messaged people encouraging them to participate, even offering to reimburse some of their traveling expenses.

They also solicited support from a volunteer for the Trump campaign in New York, who agreed to supply the rallygoers with signs.

July 9, 2016: Washington, DC

Around June 2016, the Russians started using a Facebook group called "United Muslims of America" to promote an upcoming rally in DC: "Support Hillary. Save American Muslims."

During that rally, they allegedly paid a real American to hold a sign portraying Clinton alongside a quote: "I think Sharia Law will be a powerful new direction of freedom."

July 23, 2016: New York

A couple weeks later, the Russians organized a rally similar to the protest in June called "Down with Hillary."

They used many of the same techniques to spread the word about the rally, including buying ads on social media, contacting grassroots organizations, and communicating with unwitting Trump campaign volunteers.

• Andrew Kozlovski, a 21-year-old student at the University of Southern California, runs a business selling cognitive-enhancement supplements through his company, Brainz Power.
• He says Brainz Power generates $6,000 to $10,000 a month, primarily driven by marketing on Instagram.
• Kozlovski wakes up at 5 a.m. every day and splits his time between working on the business and attending class. He rarely socializes outside of meals or the gym.

Unlike most college students, Andrew Kozlovski doesn't leave much time for socializing. He's too busy updating Instagram. Literally.

Kozlovski, 21, has built a business selling nootropic supplements, primarily by marketing on social media.

Kozlovski was finishing up his first year at University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business when he heard about students taking Adderall or other drugs intended for people with ADHD to finish their schoolwork. When he found out how dangerous the drugs were, he realized there could be a market for a safer alternative.

As a star swimmer in high school, Kozlovski had taken all kinds of natural supplements, so he started compiling a list of those said to boost cognitive performance. Then he found a lab near his hometown of Atlanta that was licensed by the Food and Drug Administration and willing to run a small order of pills combining the various supplements; he'd pay using the $500 he had saved up over the year.

While supplements are legal and many people swear by their effects, evidence about their benefits are murky, and US poison-control centers have received about 275,000 reports of people reacting badly to them over the past two decades. The supplements industry, estimated to be worth as much as $37 billion a year, is not regulated by the FDA.

But the burgeoning demand for supplements presented an opportunity for Kozlovski, who has built a social-media following selling a supplement called Brainz Power. Today, he has nearly a dozen accounts — with followers in the hundreds of thousands— where he posts aspirational content for budding entrepreneurs, fitness nuts, fellow students, and people who just like looking at pictures of cool cars and California sunrises.

He told Business Insider that posting and marketing on social media had turned into consistent sales of Brainz Power, generating $6,000 to $10,000 a month. He first uses the money to pay his college tuition and living expenses in downtown Los Angeles; everything else goes back into the business.

"I realized that if I wanted to be a successful businessman, I needed to start now," Kozlovski said. "I thought I'll learn a lot more from actually running a business while in business school than waiting four years to get started."

But running a business while attending school isn't easy. Here's what a typical day is like for Kozlovski.

SEE ALSO: These nomads spend nearly their entire lives at sea — but they could be the last generation to do so

Kozlovski wakes up at 5 a.m. every day to answer emails and fulfill orders for Brainz Power. The lab and the fulfillment center he works with are in Georgia, so they are already open by the time he wakes up in California.

After powering through emails, Kozlovski likes to grab a coffee or a smoothie and head to the gym. Usually, a friend will meet him there. "My friends are just as busy as me, so we've learned to use everyday things like the gym to catch up," he said. "The 30 seconds or minute between sets is perfect to catch up on life."

Kozlovski gets back from the gym around 7 a.m., then films his first vlog of the day. He has an extensive presence on YouTube and Instagram to market Brainz Power and build his brand as a young entrepreneur. He said that before he started marketing on Instagram via his brand pages and ads, nothing was generating sales.

• Terry Crews said he still has to send checks to the agency that employs the man who allegedly sexually assaulted him.
• Crews has alleged that Adam Venit, an agent at William Morris Endeavor, groped him at a party in 2016.
• Crews' allegation are under review at the Los Angeles Country District Attorney's Office.

Terry Crews said he still has to pay the man who he has alleged sexually assaulted him.

Crews came forward with his allegation of being groped by William Morris Endeavor agent Adam Venit in October, becoming part of the "Me Too" movement that rose to prominence following the sexual harassment and assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

Since, Crews has continually opened up about it. On Tuesday night, Variety reports that Crews discussed the allegation at Esquire’s 2018 Mavericks of Hollywood party. (Crews' allegation is now under review at the Los Angeles Country District Attorney's Office.)

“This is the deal," Crews said. "What’s so strange and crazy is that I’m still paying them [William Morris Endeavor]. I go to work, and I still have to send a check to my molester."

“[Venit] tried to tell everyone it wasn’t sexual. How do you do that? How is that possible? The level of ridiculousness that this has gone to, and they’re looking at me as if I’m ridiculous for even saying anything,” Crews said. “I’m like, ‘Nope, I’m not putting up with it. No one should. No woman, no child, no man, anywhere, in whatever business, should ever put up with being treated less than a human being, ever.”

Last month, Crews spoke with Business Insider about his experience coming forward with his story. He said he truly found out who his friends were.

"There were a lot of people that I thought were behind me and weren't,"Crews told Business Insider. "I didn't cry in my bed, 'Oh, I've been betrayed,' as a businessman the difficult times revealed who was there for me and who wasn't."

SEE ALSO: The creators of Netflix's 'Everything Sucks!' told us how they made the 'sleeper hit' series on a tiny budget, and still managed to pack in all those 90s songs

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: You can connect all 9 Best Picture Oscar nominees with actors they have in common — here's how

• Stocks actually have a "weak and inconsistent correlation" with interest rates, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategists. 
• They've been receiving lots of questions from clients following the market correction that was partly driven by fears of higher rates. 
• Returns stay positive until interest rates cross 6%, and the probability of losses starts to increase as rates rise above 3%, BAML found.

Strategists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch say they have been fielding a lot of questions about the impact of interest rates on stocks.

Clients have likely grown more curious because of the market's recent correction, which was partially blamed on the fear of interest rates rising. 

But BAML's study shows that there's no clear relationship between rates and stocks. 

"Over the past 64 years, stocks have exhibited a weak and inconsistent correlation with interest rates (-11%)," Savita Subramanian, the head of US equity and quant strategy, said in a note on Wednesday. 

"The relationship was generally negative for most of the 1960s through the 1990s (higher yields bad for stocks), a period during which the average level of rates was 7.5%. But since the turn of the century, the relationship was generally positive (higher yields good for stocks) a period during which the average level of rates was 3%."

And in case a client wasn't yet convinced, Subramanian pointed out that the best year for stocks in this cycle was 2013, when the taper tantrum spiked the 10-year yield by more than 100 basis points and the S&P 500 returned 32%.  Moreover, periods when rates were rising coincided with higher stock prices almost 90% of the time, Subramanian found. 

Higher interest rates do raise the discount rates that investors use to determine the present value of cash flows, which can crimp the valuations of risk assets including stocks.

But that's assuming all else is equal, Subramanian said. "One common offset to a rising risk-free rate (which drives the denominator in a discounted cash flow framework) is stronger growth (a higher numerator)," she said.

"Meanwhile, stocks remain cheap relative to bonds, suggesting that there may still be some buffer for valuations to absorb higher rates."

Still, these results don't create an excuse to be complacent about the impact of higher rates. A weak relationship with stocks doesn't mean none at all, and Subramanian screened more than 70 stocks that are historically hurt by higher nominal rates. 

Also, Subramanian noted that while the stock market returns stay positive until interest rates cross 6%, the probability of losses start to increase as rates rise above 3%. 

That's similar to what Jonathan Golub, the chief US equity strategist at Credit Suisse, told clients in a note on Monday. He found that stocks move positively with yields until the 10-year yield reaches 3.5%, based on a trendline of the S&P 500's performance on days when interest rates rose.

SEE ALSO: GOLDMAN SACHS: Here's the stock-market level we're watching for signs of the top

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Jim Chanos says Elon Musk just told his 'biggest whopper' about Tesla yet

• The symptoms of a cold and the flu can often look similar, but there are some key differences.
• Seasonal allergies are a third variable to consider.
• The only way to get properly diagnosed is with a doctor's visit. Knowing what you have can help determine the best treatment.

It can start with a sniffle. But before your symptoms turn into full-blown illness, you want to know: is it a cold or the flu?

Both illnesses can share a variety of symptoms. They're also both caused by viruses. And, of course, there's a third potential culprit to consider: allergies.

Most diagnostic detective work is best left to a doctor. But in the meantime, there are a few variables to consider that can help you narrow in on the cause of your illness.

The chief symptom of a cold is a stuffy or runny nose

If your nose feels stuffed or runny — but not itchy — and you don't have a fever, it's likely that you've been hit by a cold. Paying attention to the time of year is helpful, too. During the fall, roughly 75% of all circulating viruses are rhinoviruses, the most common cause of colds.

Here's the good news: most colds only last three to seven days, though symptoms can linger for another week or so.

To start feeling better, avoid stocking up on vitamin C supplements, which studies suggest won't do much for your symptoms. Instead, try a zinc lozenge — some research indicates zinc may help shorten the duration of a cold by interfering with the way rhinoviruses replicate.

If it's allergies, you'll probably be itchy and sneezy

Seasonal allergies, which typically crop up in the spring and summer, are also accompanied by nasal symptoms, but they differ in several key ways from those that characterize a cold, according to the National Institutes of Health. You'll usually have an itchy — as opposed to a runny — nose, and your eyes will likely feel scratchy too. You'll also probably be sneezing.

Your doctor can tell you if you suffer from an allergy and prescribe the right treatment for you. If you're suffering from allergies, symptoms can last as long as whatever allergen triggering them remains in the air, which can be more than a month.

The flu is the worst of the three

Flu season strikes from late fall to late winter, typically peaking in February. The first thing you should do if you suspect you've come down with the flu is to take your temperature. Most flu cases are accompanied by a fever of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Flu sufferers also typically experience body aches, coughs, and extreme tiredness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In people who are especially vulnerable, like older people, children, and individuals with weakened immune systems, the virus can also cause serious complications like pneumonia.

The flu can stick around in your system for longer than a cold, with symptoms like fatigue persisting up to three weeks. Individuals infected with the flu can pass it to anyone within 6 feet, and only stop being contagious once they've been fever-free for a full 24 hours (without the help of medication). 

If you're already sick with the flu, make sure you rest, since sleep is key to a properly functioning immune system, and keep an eye on your symptoms to be sure you don't develop more severe complications. 

If you're not sick yet, the best defense against the virus is the flu shot. Getting vaccinated can also make the flu less miserable if you do get it.

Lauren Friedman wrote a previous version of this story.

SEE ALSO: Here's the only supplement you should take for your cold

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: When you're sick, staying in bed all day might not be such a good idea

I was riding in a government SUV down the dirt roads of the large training ground at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.

My guides were two Army public affairs officers. A large military exercise called Bulldog Focus, which involved the entire 3rd Brigade of the 1st Armored Division, was underway.

The wind was sharp, the sun was bright — and I could see for miles, all the way to the surrounding mountains.

The sandy training grounds covered so many square miles that you would have never guessed tanks and troops were scattered around. Only the dust signatures kicking up in the distance from small convoys maneuvering here and there may have given it away.

We then came across two Abrams tanks and its crews — a total of eight soldiers.

They had been out in the desert for several days, sleeping in or outside of the tank, and eating only MREs. But they were nevertheless upbeat, and gladly showed me around their two war vehicles.

Here's what I saw:

SEE ALSO: We toured the world's largest aircraft carrier, which can house 75 aircraft (but doesn't have urinals)

DON'T MISS: Trump's defense budget is a wishlist for a massive military buildup — these are the planes, ships, and missiles he wants

We found the M1A2 Abrams in the middle of the desert, surrounded by mountains.

Here's what the Abrams looked like as I got closer.

Approved for production in 1990, the M1A2 weighs 71.2 tons. Its main gun is the 120mm XM256 smooth bore cannon, but it's also equipped with an M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun and two M240 7.62mm machine guns. 

The tank, however, was not fitted with its typical reactive armor tiles along the side. 

Check out a side shot of the cannon.

• Walmart's online growth slowed in the most recent quarter, which disappointed investors.
• CEO Doug McMillon called most of the slowdown "planned" due to the anniversary of the company's acquisition of Jet.com.
• But he blamed some of the slowdown on "operational challenges," like products being out of stock over the holiday season.
• It shows how Walmart still has a ways to go to compete with the well-oiled machine Amazon has built.

Walmart reported a spot of bad news in its most recent quarterly earnings call on Tuesday.

The world's largest retailer posted a drastic slowdown in its online growth for the quarter: 23% compared to the 50% it had reported in the previous quarter.

Most of this, CEO Doug McMillonsaid in the earnings call, was "planned and expected." But a smaller portion of the slowdown was due to "operational challenges," he said.

Put simply, Walmart.com ran out of some things during the holiday season. The company stocked up on holiday gifts like toys, TVs, and electronics, but this harmed the in-stock levels of some other items that are stocked in warehouses and in demand year-round.

"We're learning how to deal with higher volumes," McMillon said.

McMillon has sworn to fix the problem, but while Walmart is still learning how to master online, Amazon is running away with it. Amazon had a record-setting holiday season, and analysts estimate that it took nearly half of all online sales.

Amazon has mastered dealing with high volume at all times of the season, and it knows how to anticipate demand. It also doesn't need to make room for certain items since it has an enormous network of fulfillment centers spread across the US and, increasingly, the globe.

Walmart can't afford to falter in its war with Amazon. It's already starting from a few paces behind.

Part of the issue is in Walmart's focus on cutting costs while trying to grow online market share. Amazon sells some smaller items at a loss to try and foster loyalty from customers. Walmart doesn't have a loyalty program like Amazon Prime, which keeps customers in the Amazon ecosystem. Walmart instead has to rely on the strength of its offering and low prices to keep customers coming back.

Walmart's expenses were much higher last year as it instituted programs, like free shipping and mobile returns, to capture more online customers.

Executives have already said at Walmart's annual investors' conference that controlling costs will be a top priority for this year. According to Reuters, Walmart has begun asking suppliers for higher-priced goods to sell online to get the average cost of carts up.

Walmart ended the fiscal year with around 40% in online growth, and it's forecasting similar growth for the next year.

Analysts are split on whether that will happen, with RBC analyst Scot Ciccarelli telling investors in a note, "It is difficult to ignore the magnitude of the slowdown in e-commerce."

On the other side, Jefferies analyst Daniel Binder told investors that Walmart's "management is still making good long-term decisions ... that allow it to offer more options to customers, reduce friction and build a bigger e-commerce business."

Walmart will be doing a high-wire juggling act as it heads into the rest of the year, and there's still a lot to be done to catch up to Amazon. 

SEE ALSO: Amazon is quietly coming after dollar stores — and it's a brilliant move

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The healthiest things you can get at McDonald's

Transparency International has published the latest edition of its Corruption Perceptions Index, a global ranking of fairness across the world.

Countries are given a score out of 100, with low-scoring countries the most corrupt.

The data was produced produced from analyses from businesspeople, journalists, and civic organisations. High levels of corruption are also linked to governmental control over social media and information, attacks on press freedom, and a weak rule of law.

Countries like Syria, Yemen and North Korea dominate the most corrupt end of the scale — but Business Insider has produced a list of low-scoring western nations, which are usually assumed to have higher standards. Scroll down to see what they are.

Here's a map of the countries on the index — darker red means more corrupt.

=16. Italy — 50/100

=16. Slovakia — 50

Being a homeowner is part of the American dream, but that white picket fence comes with a side of unexpected realities.

While buying and owning a home can be fun and rewarding, it’s not all HGTV makes it out be. From hidden expenses to housekeeping demands, it involves a lot more mental and monetary effort than most originally anticipate.

According to Zillow, 52% of homeowners view their home as a financial investment and 48% view it as a reflection of who they are personally. That said, it’s important to make the right decision when house shopping — and know what you’re in for as you aim to get those keys in your hands.

Here’s what no one tells you when it comes to buying and owning a home.

SEE ALSO: The cheapest gas station chain in every state

You don’t need to spend every penny of the amount you’re qualified for

Proceed with caution when exercising the mortgage rate you were approved for —while your finances may look good on paper, only you truly understand them in the context of your lifestyle. Buy the house you know you can afford, not the maximum the mortgage company thinks you can afford. It’s in your best interest to leave yourself a cushion for things like unexpected costs or the possibility of a future change in your income. Otherwise, you’ll be on the fast track to being house poor.

Trulia recommends limiting payments to no more than 30% of your gross monthly income, while some lenders recommend 28% for housing related costs including mortgage, insurance, and taxes.

Your furniture budget may exceed your expectations

Of course you’ll need new furnishings for your new house, but if you think you can just move that four-foot bookcase or mid-century sofa from your apartment into your new Craftsman abode, think again. Depending on the house’s architecture, space, and style, your furniture might not be the right size for a room or might be a completely different aesthetic altogether.

Take a hard look at what you can and can’t take with you — and sell what won’t work in your new home. Furnishing a new home from scratch can cost up to 25% of the home’s value. When you move in, your best best is to refrain from going on a spending spree and focus on upgrading slowly.

Your monthly payment consists of more than just your mortgage

You can thank online mortgage calculators for providing you with a misleading monthly figure.  As Business Insider previously reported, they only take into account the information you provide and only consider the principal payment and interest payment.

To get a more accurate picture of monthly house-related finances, you’ll also need to take into consideration homeowner’s insurance, property taxes, utilities, and possibly homeowner’s association fees — and that’s not to mention upfront closing costs, which can be up to 5% of the home purchase.

Try using Zillow Group's Realestate.com, which has an all-in monthly pricing tool that breaks down all potential monthly expenses.

• Google ignores the periods in your email address.
• That means johnsmith@gmail.com and john.smith@gmail.com are the same email address.
• You can use this trick to filter out spammers and companies that sell your email address.

My personal email address is my name at gmail.com. Most of the time, it looks like this: kif.leswing@gmail.com.

But if I end up giving you kifleswing@gmail.com, don't worry. I'll still get the email.

In fact, if you're a Gmail user, the periods in your email address don't matter at all. Gmail completely ignores them. You can add or remove as many periods as you'd like. 

Here's how Google explains it on a help page: 

If someone accidentally adds dots to your address when emailing you, you'll still get that email. For example, if your email is johnsmith@gmail.com, you own all dotted versions of your address:

john.smith@gmail.com
jo.hn.sm.ith@gmail.com
j.o.h.n.s.m.i.t.h@gmail.com

Gmail is one of the few services in which the dot doesn't make any difference in your username. Slate writer Will Oremus previously found that Facebook doesn't care about username dots, either, but nearly every other online services does. 

Also, if your workplace uses Gmail, that doesn't mean you can stick periods in your work email — it only applies to @gmail.com addresses. 

A secret spam address 

While periods in Gmail usernames can be a fun quirk, they can also be a useful way to sort your inbox and filter what lands there.

Because the dots effectively give you scores of alternate email addresses, you can pick one and make it a defacto spam folder.

For example, if everyone emails me at john.smith@gmail.com, that should remain my main email address. But every time I'm giving my address to someone who might spam me, I give them john.smit.h@gmail.com.

Then, in my gmail, I can create a folder for all mail sent to john.smit.h@gmail.com, and automatically star, or archive, or delete those notes. You can also use extra periods to sign up for a second account on a website without creating or using a new email address. 

This trick also works with the + symbol, which can be used in any email address to create even more alternative addresses. "For example, if your name was hikingfan@gmail.com, you could send mail to hikingfan+friends@gmail.com or hikingfan+mailinglists@gmail.com," Google explains on a help page.

"You can also use this when you register for a service and think they might share your information. For example, I added "+donation" when I gave money to a political organization once, and now when I see emails from other groups to that address, I know how they got it. Solution: filtered to auto-delete," Google continued. 

So while you don't have to stop telling people about the period in your email address, you should be aware of the superpowers it gives your Gmail account. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: We built Nintendo's next big thing, Nintendo Labo

• Seven young adults posed as high school students for a semester on the A&E series "Undercover High."
• The undercover students discovered that smartphones have completely changed the lives of teenagers.
• Smartphones have become distractions in the classroom and have made problems like bullying and depression worse.

High school isn't what it used to be.

In fact, rapidly changing technology has made the typical American high school experience nearly unrecognizable for the average adult.

No technological advance has changed the game more than smartphones, according to seven young adults who relived their high-school years on the A&E show "Undercover High."

The show follows the adults aged 21 to 26 as they posed as students at Highland Park High School in Topeka, Kansas for the spring 2017 semester. The undercover participants took full course loads, joined clubs, and made friends with students in an effort to see what the lives of teenagers are like today.

Here are seven reasons why smartphones have made high school a totally different place for today's teens.

SEE ALSO: A former bully who went back to high school as an adult realized bullying isn't the same problem it used to be — it's worse

DON'T MISS: Adults who went undercover at a high school found 7 things people don't realize about life for teenagers today

Teachers are losing the battle for students' attention

The undercover students immediately noticed that smartphone use is widespread at Highland Park.

And phone use isn't limited to the hallways and cafeteria — many students spent entire class periods on their phones while teachers fought for their attention.

"I'm in my first class just looking around to see, like, what does a high schooler do? And I notice that everyone is on their phone," said Daniel, an undercover student who graduated in 2012.

Students at the school are technically forbidden from using their phones during the school day unless teachers incorporate them into lessons. But in practice, students said they use their phones at all times of the day.

"You're not supposed to have your phone out, but honestly, we don't care," one student said. "I probably check my phone about four times every five minutes," said another.

Cyberbullying is getting out of control

Smartphones have made it easier for bullies to harass their victims around the clock.

On top of that, the types of attacks bullies lob at their victims are different when they're not face-to-face — they're worse.

"People are much more courageous behind a keyboard. They say things they never would have the guts to say in front of someone. So the attacks on people are more vicious than they used to be," an undercover student named Erin told Business Insider.

"It still hurts whether it's in person or on social media, but I think that because social media allows people to be more bold, it's hurting deeper than it used to."

Worse yet, sometimes victims don't even know who their harassers are.

"I've seen a few people make fake pages just so they can be anonymous and basically make fun of people without nobody knowing who it is," one Highland Park student said.

Girls are pressured to share sexual images of themselves

The undercover students quickly learned that female students at Highland Park were often pressured to share sexual images of themselves on social media or via text.

"It's something that's normal for them — posting promiscuous pictures of themselves and rating themselves based on what others think and like off social media," Nicolette, a 22-year-old undercover student, told Business Insider.

One student said that younger, more inexperienced girls are the most likely to give in to the pressure, and face the fallout if their pictures leak online.

• Amalija and Viktor Knavs, the parents of first lady Melania Trump, are reportedly legal permanent residents in the US.
• It's likely that the Knavs used America's family-based immigration system to obtain their green cards, putting them on a path to citizenship.
• The Trump administration is pushing Congress to enact major cuts to family-based immigration, which they call "chain migration."

First lady Melania Trump's parents reportedly obtained green cards and are on track to become US citizens, raising speculation over whether they took advantage of an immigration process that President Donald Trump has vowed to eliminate.

The Washington Post on Wednesday reported that Amalija and Viktor Knavs have become legal permanent residents, according to people familiar with their status. But their attorney declined to explain how or when the Knavs immigrated.

It's likely that the Knavs, who are from Slovenia, used America's family-reunification process to immigrate, according to immigration experts. One of the main methods of legal immigration to the US is family-based sponsorship, as citizens may sponsor their parents, children, and siblings for green cards.

Some hardline conservatives, particularly the president, call this process "chain migration" and have vowed to eliminate it and slash the US's overall immigration levels.

A representative for the Office of the First Lady declined to clarify the Knavs' immigration statuses to Business Insider, saying they were not part of the Trump administration.

The Knavs have long drawn speculation over their immigration status — they are occasionally photographed in the US, and multiple news reports have said they live with the Trumps. But the White House has not confirmed whether they lived in the US permanently or just visited frequently.

The issue became particularly contentious last week amid immigration negotiations in the Senate to address the fate of young unauthorized immigrants known as Dreamers, whose protection from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is set to end soon.

The president and hardline conservatives insisted on overhauling family-based immigration and the diversity visa lottery program in exchange for extending protections for Dreamers, but Trump's favored immigration proposal was shot down by 60 senators in a vote.

White House officials previously declined to go into specifics on the Knavs' immigration statuses when a reporter asked about them earlier in February, but they also argued that such immigration policies should not continue indefinitely just because they have existed in the past.

SEE ALSO: The Senate just opened up a rare free-for-all debate on immigration — here's who's winning so far

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How to make America great — according to one of the three cofounders of Black Lives Matter