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The biggest way shopping changed this year combined the best parts of online and in-store

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Walmart grocery

  • Retailers are increasingly marrying their online shopping offerings and their in-store experience.
  • Buy-online, pickup-in-store programs have proliferated, with big stores like Target, Whole Foods, and Walmart greatly expanding their offerings.
  • Customers are taking notice as well, with buy-online-pickup-in-store sales rising dramatically this holiday season compared to last year.

Buying online increasingly does not automatically mean a package will be shipped to you.

Retailers like Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods are increasingly ramping up their buy-online, pickup-in-store programs. From fresh items like grocery staples to electronics, stores are giving customers options when it comes to how they want to get their purchase.

In fact, over 30 nationwide retailers now offer the option on their website. Target has revamped its offering this year, renaming it Drive-Up and expanding it to more markets. 

And customers are taking notice. For the holiday season, Adobe Analytics estimates that as of December 20th, buy-online, pickup-in-store purchases were up over 47% over the same period last year.

The added convenience of getting the item within hours and not having to trek through the store to find it were likely factors in that bump.

But it's not just holiday gift giving where buy-online, pickup-in-store makes sense. Grocery pickup is increasingly becoming the customers get fresh food. Walmart's Grocery pickup business has become a jewel in Walmart's online crown.

Read more: Nike and Whole Foods are following Walmart's lead and signaling a new era for online shopping

"We believe Walmart could reach 17% online grocery market share by 2025,"Deutsche Bank analyst Paul Trussell said, based off the back of its strong grocery pickup business. Right now, Amazon holds the crown of top online grocer, but Walmart is on track to beat that, in large part owing to grocery pickup proliferation.

Walmart will have 2,140 grocery pickup sites by the end of January which would make it accessible for 69% of households in the US.

Walmart CFO Brett Biggs told Reuters that the service is bringing in new customers and contributed to the 40% e-commerce growth the retailer posted in August.

To compete, Whole Foods launched its own pickup services through Amazon's Prime Now service, which is rapidly expanding, but is currently in far fewer locations.

Buying online but picking up in-store is not only quicker for customers to get their stuff, but it's far cheaper for retailers as they will not have to fulfill the order through a warehouse. Expect to see retailers making the most of it as online shopping and in-person shopping increasingly merge.

SEE ALSO: Here's why Walmart put an empty gift card in your online order without asking

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The inside story of how short-seller Carson Block made a killing this year, even as the market made life miserable for many investors

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carson block

  • Carson Block's firm Muddy Waters is said to have returns of about 18% this year; other short-sellers have also posted gains.
  • It's been a brutal year for many hedge funds as markets melted down in October.
  • "We're not really correlated to the market," Block says.

The short-seller Carson Block, who founded Muddy Waters Capital, says he's managed to dodge the wild ride in equity markets that has put many of his hedge fund peers in the red.

"We're happy with how things have gone this year," he said in an interview. While he declined to quantify the fund's performance, a person familiar with the matter said Muddy Waters had posted returns this year of about 18%.

It's not a bad result for what has been a brutal year for many equities traders. October was a bloodbath for stock markets, and few felt the pain like hedge funds, which turned in a rocky month for the ages.

"Because we trade around short activism, we're not really correlated to the market," he said. "Our strategy is slightly negatively correlated to the market. The only catch here is that for a purely short activist strategy, it's not super scalable."

This year Block targeted the Canadian insurance firm Manulife, a London semiconductor company called IQE, and the Chinese tutoring company TAL Education Group. The stocks all plunged when he released his reports.

Read more:Hedge funds just suffered through their worst month in 8 years — here's why their struggles could just be getting started

Muddy Waters is not alone among short-sellers doing well in 2018. Ben Axler's Spruce Point Capital is up 25% this year, while Eiad Asbahi's Prescience Point Capital Management posted gains of about 47% in the first nine months of the year, people familiar with those returns told Business Insider. Reuters has reported that Sahm Adrangi's Kerrisdale Capital was up 45% through the end of September.

"Obviously, we do take into account macro factors," Block said. "We try to hedge the beta of our trades, somewhat isolate for that and really try to focus on the idiosyncratic aspects of the name."

Block is best known for calling out fraudulent Chinese companies, shooting to fame after calling the timber company Sino-Forest a fraud in 2011. The company has since filed for bankruptcy. After he called out Rino International and China MediaExpress, they were delisted from major US exchanges.

Some powerful players in China didn't appreciate his line of work, and Block, a Mandarin speaker, left China for San Francisco in 2010, claiming he was chased out by "gangsters." He now finds companies to short all over the world.

Leveraged loans

Block also makes bearish bets on stocks via corporate bond markets. One strategy is to buy a bond and then use the repayments to help fund the purchase of long-dated contracts — or puts — that pay out when the stock declines.

"It's a synthetic short position in the stock," he said. He might consider ramping up that strategy if a disconnect emerges between loans and stocks, for example if the loans get cheaper and thus offer more funding to buy more puts, before the equity market catches up.

"There are some concerns about the leveraged loan market," he said. "If we didn't have equity hedges on, it's something we'd be really concerned about."

Souring on Europe

"Europe has a lot of structural issues that promotes poor corporate governance," he said, including a more deferential investing culture relative to that of the US. "Presumably, that creates a target rich environment, but in Europe there just isn't the protection of free speech the we have here in the US."

He continued: "That presents issues when your business model is speaking truth to power. There's a temptation for power to be misused to punish the speakers unduly when the scrutiny should be on the companies."

Block said Muddy Waters hadn't initiated a short against a European company since April 2016, when he accused the German ad firm Stroeer of overstating its cash flow.

"Never say never," he said of targeting Europe again. "I'm always watching."

SEE ALSO: Activist short seller Carson Block is taking aim at 'amoral' investing practices and says it's time to 'name names'

NOW READ: We spoke with Wall Street's 8 best-performing fund managers of 2018 to find out how they crushed the market — and what opportunities they're pursuing for 2019

Join the conversation about this story »

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Truck owners are blocking Tesla Superchargers in 'ICE-ing' protests (TSLA)

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Tesla supercharger blocked

  • A recent spate of traditional vehicles blocking Tesla Superchargers has some drivers comparing the practice to "rolling coal."
  • One Tesla owner told Business Insider a group of truck owners harassed them in the parking lot of a Sheetz convenience store in North Carolina. 
  • CEO Elon Musk said recently that the company is working to expand the charger network across the nation.

Tesla drivers are reporting a spate of “ICE-ing” (an acronym from Internal Combustion Engine) by large trucks at Superchargers across the country.

In one instance, Reddit user Leicina said a group of trucks blocked all of the charging spots while changing “F Tesla” before being asked to leave by an employee of the store.

Like most superchargers, the location where the incident occurred — behind a Sheetz convenience store in Hickory, North Carolina, about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte — isn’t on land owned by Tesla. Rather, it’s leased from third-parties, giving the company no control over how the Supercharger spots are used from day to day.

"I was really uncomfortable," the Tesla owner said, adding that the Sheetz employees were "really understanding and sent someone out immediately."

A Sheetz spokesperson said the company was aware of the incident, and apologized for any inconvenience.

"Sheetz is proud to offer a wide variety of fueling options, including one of the largest networks of Tesla Superchargers," Nick Ruffner, the chain's PR manager, said in an email. "Parking spots with Tesla Superchargers are reserved exclusively for those charging their vehicles. These spots are regularly monitored by our store managers and employees – who routinely ask other motorists to move their vehicles."

Another Tesla owner in Bristol, Tennessee spotted a Dodge Ram truck blocking a charging spot, with the charging cable mockingly attached to the bed.

Truck ICE Tesla supercharger

Laws about parking in reserved spots vary by state. In Arizona, for instance, its illegal to park in "any parking space specially designated for parking and fueling motor vehicles fueled exclusively by electricity unless the motor vehicle is powered by electricity and has been issued an alternative fuel vehicle special plate."

The incidents aren't new — and Tesla owners have complained about them for years online. (To be sure, some may be accidental, but many — like the incident in Hickory, were clearly meant to provoke.) Some even love to shame their gas-guzzling peers when they park in EV charging spots.

A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Many people have compared the practice to "rolling coal," when diesel owners modify their engines to dump excess amount of fuel into the cylinders. It results in more horsepower and torque, but also black plumes of smoke when not all of the fuel can be burned.

In videos posted online, drivers brag about blowing clouds on protestors or an unlucky Prius on the highway.

The practice has been illegal at the federal level for years, and a similar law was adopted by New Jersey in 2015.

Luckily for Tesla owners, the supercharger network is quickly expanding. CEO Elon Musk this week said the company is "dramatically increasing Tesla Superchargers within cities & working with landlords to add home charging to apartment buildings."

SEE ALSO: Meet Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, the HR executive that just joined Telsa's board following its $20 million SEC settlement

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We shopped at J.Crew and Madewell and saw why one brand is thriving as the other struggles

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madewell 4106

  • J.Crew is being outshined by its sister store Madewell.
  • In the third quarter, comparable sales were up 4% at J.Crew and 22% at Madewell. 
  • J.Crew has been in the process of rebranding its stores, ditching its preppy roots for the more timeless styles at Madewell.
  • We visited neighboring locations of J.Crew and Madewell, and saw why Madewell is thriving as J.Crew struggles to catch up. 

 

J.Crew is being outshined by its sister store Madewell. 

On November 29, J.Crew reported comparable sales were up 4% in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Madewell's comparable sales were up 22%. Prior to the second quarter, J.Crew sales had slipped for three consecutive years.

Part of why the brand has consistently struggled is that some customers see it as overpriced, generic, and even "wannabe trendy." Former J.Crew creative director Jenna Lyons left in early 2017 and was followed by longtime CEO Mickey Drexler. In late November, CEO James Brett stepped down after just 17 months.

In September, J.Crew began ditching its preppy roots and redefining itself in an effort to win back customers by branching out beyond its iconic preppy style and offering a wider variety of styles and sizes.

It's also looking to its more successful sister brand, Madewell, for inspiration, adding products like sweaters with French slogans and high-waisted denim pieces that are more likely to be found at Madewell.

Madewell has been so successful because it knows its customer and doesn't jump on fast-fashion trends. Its focus is on good-quality, longer-lasting clothing, which have a lower price point than at J.Crew. However, when we visited both stores, the prices were about the same. 

We shopped at both J.Crew and Madewell, and saw why Madewell is doing so much better: 

SEE ALSO: We went shopping at Nordstrom and Macy's to see which was a better department store, and the winner was obvious

We went to J.Crew first.



In the window was a 50% off sale styles sign.



The front of the store had a few cardigans and blouses on display, most of which were 25% off.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Nordstrom's huge Half Yearly Sale is officially on — here's what to buy

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

48372687_10156933553489837_4276380520083881984_o

Nordstrom's big Half-Yearly Sale kicked off on December 26, and it will run until January 2. 

If you got a gift card or found a pile of cold hard cash buried in the backyard over the holidays, now is a good time to spend it — especially if you have essentials you know you'll more than likely shell out for soon, or have a stacked wish list with things you can only justify with a discount. Nordstrom also has free shipping and returns, and you can read about the new free rewards program here. It's also worth noting you can order online and schedule a free pick-up in store.

To save you time, we raked through the site to put some of the best deals you can get all in one shoppable place. Check them out below, or shop the sale directly here.

Shop the women's sale here.

Shop the men's sale here.

Shop the kids' sale here.

Below are 30 of the best items included in Nordstrom's Half-Yearly sale this year: 

SEE ALSO: Save up to 50% at L.L.Bean, Nordstrom, Nike, and Ralph Lauren — and more of today's best deals from around the web

Topshop Lily Midi Coat

Topshop Lily Knit Back Midi Coat, $74.99 (originally $125)

This longline jacket adds sophistication to any cold-weather outfit, and it's available in three versatile colors. 



Hunter Original Rain Bootie

Hunter Original Refined Rain Bootie, $72.50 (originally $145)

Hunter's fan-favorite, handcrafted rain boot gets a slim update in thinner, more flexible rubber and a tailored, slimmer silhouette.



Good American Good Legs Jeans

Good American Good Legs High Waist Skinny Jeans, $95.40 (originally $159)

Designed with a contoured waistband and advanced stretch recovery for a flawless fit, these svelte skinnies flaunt every curve from top to bottom.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Bitcoin 101: Your essential guide to cryptocurrency

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A collection of Bitcoin (virtual currency) tokens are displayed in this picture illustration taken December 8, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Illustration

Bitcoin is everywhere.

The cryptocurrency is seemingly in the news every day as investors and businesses try to understand the future of this digital finance.

But what is Bitcoin all about?

Why is it suddenly on every financial news program?

And what does it mean to you?

Find out the answers to these questions and more in Bitcoin 101, a brand new FREE report from Business Insider Intelligence.

To get your copy of the FREE slide deck, simply click here.

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2-year-old Yemeni boy whose mom was kept out of US by travel ban has died

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Ali Hassan with his 2-year-old son Abdullah

  • Abdallah Hassan had died at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland.
  • His mother Shaima Swileh was kept out of the US until December by President Donald Trump's travel ban.
  • Swileh was let in following a lawsuit from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The 2-year-old son of a Yemeni woman who sued the Trump administration to let her into the country to be with the ailing boy has died.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations announced Friday that Abdallah Hassan had died at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland. He suffered from a genetic brain condition called hypomyelination that left him unable to breathe by himself.

The boy's father, Ali Hassan, brought him to the United States for medical treatment in October. His mother Shaima Swileh remained behind in their Egypt home. The boy and his father are U.S. citizens but Swileh is not.

Read more: Yemeni mother of dying 2-year-old arrives in the US after waiting a year to be granted a visa

Yemeni citizens are restricted from entering the United States under President Donald Trump's travel ban. She applied for a waiver in 2017, but U.S. officials granted it only in December after the council sued alongside a petition from Rep. Barbara Lee.

Swileh held her son for the first time in the hospital on Dec. 19.

In June, the Supreme Court upheld the latest version of Trump's travel ban that barred entry from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Venezuela, and North Korea.

SEE ALSO: Yemeni mom wins fight to fly to US to give dying son kiss

Join the conversation about this story »

I'm a nationally ranked Scrabble player, and I have a simple trick that can take your game to new heights

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mark abadi scrabble

  • I'm a nationally ranked Scrabble player, and there's a huge difference between how experts play the game compared to casual players.
  • Expert Scrabble players manage to use all their letters in a single turn — earning them a 50-point bonus — multiple times per game.
  • There's one simple trick I recommend people try to help them unscramble words: Look for prefixes and suffixes among your letters that can lead to longer words.

Scrabble is one of America's favorite board games.

But at its highest levels, Scrabble is almost a completely different game than the one you play around the living room table on family game night. 

I would know: I'm a card-carrying member of the North American Scrabble Players Association, playing in several Scrabble tournaments a year around the country. I've competed in two Scrabble national championships, and according to my ranking, I'm one of the top 20 players in New York City.

Related:I played in the biggest Scrabble tournament in the country — and it was nothing like the game you grew up playing

'Bingos' are the biggest difference

The biggest difference between expert-level Scrabble and casual play is the length of the words.

You might be aware that in Scrabble, if you manage to use all seven of your tiles in one play, it earns you a bonus of 50 points.

That's called a "bingo," in Scrabble lingo. And while inexperienced players might go their whole lives without playing a bingo, competitive players count on getting two to three bingos per game.

Getting the 50-point bonus that comes with a bingo is one of the keys to a sky-high Scrabble score— after all, the top players in North America average more than 425 points a game.

But actually finding a seven-letter word out of a pool of random letters is easier said than done. Luckily, there is a trick you can employ to help you find bingos and boost your score to new heights.

Here's how to find words out of random letters

It can be a daunting task to look at seven random letters and try to rearrange them into a valid word.

The best place to start is by trying to pick out any common prefixes and suffixes you see among your letters. Think of combinations that frequently come at the beginning of words, like RE-, UN-, and OUT-, and combinations that frequently end them, like -ED, -ING, -ER, and -EST.

Once you find a prefix or suffix, you can try to build the rest of your letters around it.

For example, imagine you're looking at the letters CGILNRU. That's an intimidating rack:

scrabble rack curling

But if you manage to spot the -ING within those letters, your task becomes significantly easier. Now, all you have to do is make a four-letter verb out of CLRU, and you're on way to scoring 70-plus points.

Similarly, you can use common prefixes and suffixes to find the bingos in this seven-letter string:

scrabble rack

By finding familiar chunks like DE-, -ED, and -ERS, you'll be on your way to finding bingos like PRAISED, ASPIRED, DESPAIR, and DIAPERS.

The next step is strategize your game around bingos

So now you know the most basic secret to unscrambling a word. But finding a bingo isn't enough — to unlock seriously high scores, you'll have to put yourself in a position to get bingo-friendly letters.

Expert Scrabble players strategize around maximizing their odds of playing a bingo. When choosing a word to play, they don't just consider how many points it scores, but what letters it leaves them with and how those letters will affect their ability to score points on future turns.

A good rule of thumb is to hold on to the letters of the word RETAINS — those seven letters combine especially well with other letters and turn up in thousands of bingos. Other good letters for bingos include D, C, H, and P.

On the other hand, clunky letters like B, W, or J drastically reduce your chances of playing a bingo, so it's generally a good idea to use those letters as soon as you draw them. 

For example, you won't find any bingos in the following rack …

scrabble jawters

… but thinking ahead, it would be smart to play a word like JAW, which would offload your least bingo-prone tiles and let you keep valuable combos like RE-, -ERS, and -EST for the next turn.

Decisions like that one are critical to success in Scrabble at any level. Becoming a top-ranked expert might take a bit more practice, but at the very least, learning how to find a bingo can make you the MVP of your next game night.

Join the conversation about this story »

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Here's how retailers and logistics firms can solve the multibillion-dollar returns issue

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This is a preview of The Reverse Logistics Report from Business Insider Intelligence. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Returns

With e-commerce becoming a lucrative shopping channel, retailers and their logistics partners have been primarily focused on how to quickly move goods through the supply chain and into the hands of consumers — a process commonly referred to as forward logistics. However, the opportunities presented by the growing popularity of e-commerce also come with a challenging, multibillion-dollar downside: returns.

Return rates for e-commerce purchases are between 25% and 30%, compared with just 9% for in-store purchases. Turning reverse logistics — the process of returning goods from end users back to their origins to either recapture value or properly dispose of material — into a costly and high-stakes matter for retailers.

Not only are retailers experiencing more returns as a result of e-commerce growth, but consumer expectations also demand that retailers provide a seamless process. In fact, 92% of consumers agree that they are more likely to shop at a store again if it offers a hassle-free return policy (e.g. free return shipping labels). Some consumers even place large orders with the intention of returning certain items. 

And e-commerce sales are only going up from here, exacerbating the issue and making retailers' need for help more dire. However, for logistics firms that can offer cost-effective reverse logistics solutions, this has opened up a significant opportunity to capture a share of rapidly growing e-commerce logistics costs in the US, which hit $117 billion last year, according to Armstrong & Associates, Inc. estimates. 

InThe Reverse Logistics Report, Business Insider Intelligence examines what makes reverse logistics so much more challenging than forward logistics, explores the trends that have driven retailers to finally improve the way in which returns move through their supply chains, and highlights how logistics firms can act to win over retailers' return dollars.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

  • E-commerce is now a core shopping channel for retailers, and it's still growing. US e-commerce sales are set to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% between 2018 and 2023, surpassing $1 trillion in sales, according to Business Insider Intelligence estimates.
  • Booming e-commerce sales have driven product returns through the roof. Business Insider Intelligence estimates that US e-commerce returns will increase at a CAGR of 19% between 2018 and 2023, surpassing $300 million dollars. 
  • Consumers have high expectations about how returns are handled, and retailers are struggling to find cost-effective ways to meet their demands. Sixty-four percent of shoppers stated they would be hesitant to shop at a retailer ever again if they found issues with the returns process. And retailers don't have the expertise to effectively keep up with how demanding consumers are about returns — 44% of retailers said their margins were negatively impacted by handling and packaging returns, for example.
  • Logistics firms are well positioned to solve — and profit from — returns. These companies can take advantage of their scale and expertise to solve pain points retailers commonly experience as goods move through the reverse supply chain. 
  • Reverse logistics solutions themselves present a lucrative opportunity — but they're also appealing in the potential inroads they offer to supply chain management. The global third-party logistics market is estimated to be valued at $865 billion in 2018, according to Bekryl. 

In full, the report:

  • Explores the difficulties found in the reverse logistics process.
  • Highlights the reasons why reverse logistics needs to be a key focus of any retailer's operations. 
  • Identifies the specific trends that are leading to growth in reverse logistics, including changes in shopping habits, consumer expectations, and regulatory pressures
  • Pinpoints where along the reverse supply chain logistics firms have opportunities to attract retail partners by offering unique and helpful solutions. 
  • Outlines strategies that logistics firms can employ to capture a piece of this growing multibillion-dollar market.

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A researcher who studied over 600 millionaires found the same 2 qualities helped them get rich

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rich people

  • To build wealth, you need two qualities, according to a researcher who studied more than 600 millionaires: Resilience and perseverance.
  • These qualities are characteristic of those who can afford to retire early and entrepreneurs who become self-made millionaires.
  • It takes conscious effort to develop resiliency and perseverance.

What does it take to get rich?

It may seem like building wealth is impossible, but the answer lies in two qualities that anyone can develop: Resilience and perseverance.

That's according to Sarah Stanley Fallaw, co-author of "The Next Millionaire Next Door: Enduring Strategies for Building Wealth" and the director of research for the Affluent Market Institute.

A follow-up to the 1998 bestseller "The Millionaire Next Door," written by her father Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko, the book provides updates and new studies on Stanley's original research on millionaires. Stanley Fallaw's findings are based on a survey of more than 600 millionaires in America conducted between 2015 and 2016.

"To build wealth, to build one's own business, to ignore critics and media and neighbors, you must have the resolve to keep pursuing your goals past rejection and pain," wrote Stanley Fallaw.

She added: "Millionaires and other economically successful Americans who pursue self-employment, decide to climb the corporate ladder, or strive to create a financial independence lifestyle early do so by perpetually pushing on."

She cites an example of multimillionaire Alan DeMarcus, who started at his uncle's HVAC business at age 14. After two-and-a-half years in college, he quit school once he landed a sales role at his uncle's business.

The company eventually went bankrupt, but Alan had enough resilience and perseverance to build a successful refrigerant recovery business in the middle of the 2008 recession. He eventually sold the business, and today he's worth between $8 million and $10 million.

Read more: The author of 'The Millionaire Next Door' explains 3 ways anyone can build more wealth

SEE ALSO: An early retiree who interviewed 100 millionaires discovered nearly all of them got rich using the same 3-step strategy

DON'T MISS: A self-made millionaire who interviewed 100 other millionaires found there's a surprising habit many have in common

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International money transfers hit $613 billion this year — here's what young, tech savvy users value most about them

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here.

FORECAST Global Remittance VolumeRemittances, or cross-border peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfers, hit a record high of $613 billion globally in 2017, following a two-year decline.  And the remittance industry will continue to grow, driven largely by digital services.

Several factors will fuel digital growth globally, such as increased smartphone penetration, greater demand for digital transactions, and an overall need for faster cross-border transfers. And with the shift to digital comes an audience of younger, digital-savvy customers using remittances — a segment that companies are looking to target.

As a result, the global remittance industry is becoming increasingly competitive for firms to navigate, with incumbents like Western Union and MoneyGram competing for the same pool of customers as digital upstarts like WorldRemit and Remitly. And in order to win, companies across the board will need to prioritize the four areas consumers value most in remittances: cost, convenience, speed, and safety.  

In The Digital Remittances Report, Business Insider Intelligence will identify what young, digitally savvy users value in remittances. We will also detail the concrete steps that legacy and digital providers can take to effectively capture this opportunity and monetize digital offerings — the primary growth driver — to emerge at or maintain their presence at the forefront of the space. 

The companies mentioned in the report are: MoneyGram, Remitly, Ria, Western Union, WorldRemit, TransferWise, and Xoom, among others.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

  • The global remittance industry recovered from a two-year decline in 2017 to reach a record $613 billion in transfer volume. That growth will continue and will be fueled by digital remittances, which Business Insider Intelligence expects to grow at a 23% CAGR from $225 billion in 2018 to $387 billion in 2023.
  • There’s a new segment of customers that both legacy and digital firms are competing to grab share of. Young, digital-savvy consumers are the customer segment that all firms are vying to reach, which is creating a highly competitive dynamic. The needs of those consumers will precipitate transformational change in the industry.
  • We’ve identified several tangible steps firms can take to improve in four key areas — cost, convenience, speed, and security — to not only attract but also maintain this customer segment to align with their preferences and ultimately win in the space.

 In full, the report:

  • Outlines the global remittance landscape and sizes the opportunity that the industry presents. 
  • Identifies the new audience for remittances and future drivers of the remittance space going forward. 
  • Discusses four key areas that providers can focus on — cost, convenience, speed, and security — to improve offerings and ultimately capture that shifting audience. 

To get this report, subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to:

This report and more than 275 other expertly researched reports
Access to all future reports and daily newsletters
Forecasts of new and emerging technologies in your industry
And more!
Learn More

Or, purchase & download The Digital Remittances Report directly from our research store

SEE ALSO: These were the biggest developments in the global fintech ecosystem over the last 12 months

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The top 7 shows on Netflix and other streaming services this week

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chilling adventures of sabrina

  • Every week, Parrot Analytics provides Business Insider the most in-demand TV shows on streaming services.
  • This week continued to include the likes of Netflix's "Voltron: Legendary Defender" and "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina."

With the holidays looming, audiences stuck to what interested them on streaming services last week, as the usual suspects and newcomers like Netflix's "Voltron: Legendary Defender" remained on this week's list.

Every week, Parrot Analytics provides Business Insider with a list of the seven most "in-demand" TV shows on streaming services. The data is based on "demand expressions," the globally standardized TV demand measurement unit from Parrot Analytics. Audience demand reflects the desire, engagement, and viewership weighted by importance, so a stream or download is a higher expression of demand than a "like" or comment on social media.

Below are this week's seven most popular shows on Netflix and other streaming services:

SEE ALSO: How many millions Netflix's top executives will make in 2019 after big raises, including $31.5 million for its content boss

7. "Voltron: Legendary Defender" (Netflix)

Average demand expressions: 23,295,462

Description: "In an all-new series, five unlikely heroes and their flying robot lions unite to form the megapowerfulVoltron and defend the universe from evil."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 8): N/A

What critics said: "Season 8 manages to do the seemingly impossible by ramping up the stakes to the utmost, delivering the most powerful emotional resonance between our heroes and villains yet, and wrapping everything up in a tearful, bittersweet, and fully satisfying way."— Dave Trumbore, Collider

Season 8 premiered on Netflix December 14.



6. "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" (Amazon)

Average demand expressions:  25,306,683

Description: "After Midge's triumph at the Gaslight, the fallout from her takedown of Sophie Lennon looms large, making her climb up the comedy ladder more challenging than ever. As the actual grind of being a comic begins to take its toll on Midge, the pressure to come clean to her family weighs on her - especially as her choices have a ripple effect on everyone around her."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 2): 91%

What critics said: "Season 2 is definitely more ambitious than the first effort"— Megan Vick, TV Guide

Season 2 premiered on Amazon December 5.



5. "Narcos: Mexico" (Netflix)

Average demand expressions: 25,378,639

Netflix description: "Witness the birth of the Mexican drug war in the 1980s as a gritty new 'Narcos' saga chronicles the true story of the Guadalajara cartel's ascent."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 1): 86%

What critics said: "This season... is a wonderful showcase for two talented Latinx actors who've long deserved a high-profile TV project. "Narcos: Mexico" is all that and more, a poignant lesson on the bloody history behind our modern war on drugs."— Eric Deggans, NPR

Season 1 premiered on Netflix November 16.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Our grandparents wanted security and stability at work. 50 years later, we've given up on that to search for something else.

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  • For our grandparents, good jobs meant employers that would take care of them.
  • Today's workers don't expect security or stability. Instead they want a job that contributes to a fulfilling life and allows them some flexibility.
  • The gig economy is also a relatively new development, though most workers who are holding down multiple part-time jobs are doing so out of economic necessity. 

There's no one, universal definition of a "good job" today. But the picture I pieced together from interviewing and surveying people at various stages of their lives and careers looks a lot different than it would have a few decades earlier.

For one thing, expectations around job security have changed drastically. I spoke with Rebecca Fraser-Thill, the director of faculty engagement in the Bates Center for Purposeful Work at Bates College and a career coach with the Pivot program (I was one of her coaching clients in 2017), and she said previous generations of workers wanted security and stability from their employers. Today's workers don't necessarily expect that — instead, they want a sense of personal fulfillment, whether that comes from one job, two jobs, or a job and a side hustle.

That is to say, today's employees don't anticipate that their employers will want to keep them on payroll forever. (See: LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman's writings on "tours of duty," or limited stints with a particular organization.)

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It's also to say that today's workers don't see a pot of money glistening at the end of their career paths. According to a 2014 report from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, the number of American workers with a defined benefit plan (i.e. a pension, which provides a specific amount of money in retirement) decreased from 62% in 1983 to 17% in 2013.

In an INSIDER survey through SurveyMonkey Audience, of about 1,000 people in early December, respondents ages 18 to 29 were 19 percentage points less likely than the average respondent to say a pension is essential to a good job. Respondents over 60, on the other hand, were 13 percentage points more likely.

Even within the last decade, the concept of job security has changed. Brie Reynolds, a career coach and the career specialist at FlexJobs, told me that after the 2008 economic downturn, people realized their jobs might not last forever. As a result, Reynolds said, they started to think about how they wanted work to fit into their overall life. That is to say, work was no longer the biggest focus. Indeed, in the Business Insider survey, the third most popular choice for essential aspects of a a good job was work/life balance (74%).

Job tenure has decreased markedly for one age group in particular

Interestingly, quashed hopes around job security haven't necessarily translated to decreasing job tenure. In fact, the average US worker today stays at a job slightly longer than the average worker in 2000.

As Mark Gimein wrote in The New Yorker in 2015, the group for which job tenure has decreased most markedly is middle-aged workers. According to data compiled by Julie Hotchkiss, research economist and senior advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, when Americans born in 1933 were in their 50s, they stayed at a job for 13 years on average; when Americans born in 1963 were in their 50s, they stayed at a job for 8.5 years on average.

Read more: I asked more than a dozen people what a 'good' job looks like, and noticed a curious pattern among the worst jobs they've had

"The real problem of job stability is conspicuously a problem of later age," Gimein wrote in The New Yorker, "and its image is not really the younger worker looking for a good start but the older worker trying to re-start a failing career or hopping though Amazon warehouses."

Flexibility and the gig economy are new developments

One of the more obvious changes in the American workplace is the evolution of flexible work, thanks largely to technological advances that make it possible to work almost wherever and whenever.

In the Business Insider survey, 53% of respondents said flexibility is essential to a good job. And on LinkedIn's list of top companies, most offer flexible working arrangements; 34% of respondents in a LinkedIn survey said they would take a 10% pay cut to design their own schedule.

This type of flexibility makes it possible to hold down multiple jobs at once, or at least a job and a side hustle. Fred Goff, the CEO of Jobcase, or "LinkedIn for blue-collar workers," told me that Jobcase members often have multiple jobs "stitched together" at once, like working at an Amazon warehouse and driving for Uber or Lyft.

Yet this participation in the so-called gig economy is more often a function of economic necessity than a search for personal fulfillment. Most people don't prefer doing 1099 work to having a single, stable career, Goff said (referring to the tax forms independent contractors complete). "They're doing it to supplement their income. That's the reality of who we're serving."

SurveyMonkey Audience polls from a national sample balanced by census data of age and gender. Respondents are incentivized to complete surveys through charitable contributions. Generally speaking, digital polling tends to skew toward people with access to the internet. SurveyMonkey Audience doesn't try to weight its sample based on race or income. Total 1,037 respondents, margin of error plus or minus 3.11 percentage points with 95% confidence level.

SEE ALSO: Your grandparents' idea of a 'good job' was probably based on a salary and benefits — and 50 years later, things haven't changed all that much

Join the conversation about this story »

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Trump says 'big progress' made in talks on possible trade deal with China

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  • President Donald Trump says "big progress" is being made in talks between the US and China to head off further escalation in a yearlong trade war.
  • Trump tweeted Saturday that he had a "long and very good call" with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss trade, less than a month after the two met in Argentina.
  • China announced last week the two leaders would meet about a potential deal in January amid cooling tensions. 

President Donald Trump said "big progress" was made in talks between the US and China to head off further escalation of a yearlong trade war.

Trump said Saturday that he had a "long and very good call" with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss trade, which stemmed from their sit-down early this month in Argentina.

Trump tweeted: "Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute."

Read more: Trump's trade tweets not only threatened Asian markets this week but invited China to come save the day with a surprising and unorthodox message of trust

Trump's tweet comes days after the Chinese commerce ministry announced China and the US are slated for a face-to-face meeting over trade in January after they agreed to postpone more tariff hikes to allow for negotiations.

Since the agreement, China made its first purchases of US soybeans after six months, despite the remaining hefty tariffs on US cargo.

Trade relations between the two countries have been fraying for months. The arrest of the chief financial officer of Chinese company Huawei, the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, sparked major concerns that the tense trade war would escalate.

The US has been asking China to address intellectual property theft and other aggressive measures from Beijing that have been used in an attempt to continue its path towards technological dominance. 

Trump found a small victory as Chinese officials reportedly moved away from pursuing Xi's "Made in China 2025" economic strategy, which aimed to turn China into a manufacturing and tech superpower.

The policy emphasized "indigenous innovations" and "self-sufficiency" in tech, and its absence leaves an open door to its economy for foreign firms.

SEE ALSO: Trump's government shutdown has traders in the dark about a key issue in the US-China trade war

DON'T MISS: Volatility made a big comeback in 2018 — these were the stock market's 5 craziest days of the year

Join the conversation about this story »

If we're living through a “retail apocalypse,” why are e-commerce leaders like Amazon, Alibaba, and JD.com so focused on building brick-and-mortar stores? (AMZN, BABA, JD)

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here

If we're living through a “retail apocalypse” that spells doom for brick-and-mortar retail, as many have suggested, why are e-commerce leaders like Amazon, Alibaba, and JD.com so focused on building their own brick-and-mortar networks?

US Consumers Who Made an Impulse Buy Due to Personalization in the Past 90 Days

It's because they want to revitalize physical stores by introducing features associated with online shopping like personalization — and a whopping 65% of consumers said personalization and promotions are most important to their shopping experiences, according to a report from Oracle cited by Chain Store Age.

Brick-and-mortar retailers have the opportunity to reap the same benefits of personalization that e-tailers do, like repeat visits and impulse purchases, but they need to invest in the right technologies and techniques to do so because they currently don’t meet shoppers’ expectations. For example, 41% of consumers expect sales associates to know about their previous purchases, but just 19% have experienced this, according to a report from Segment.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence analyzes how physical retail’s personalization is being outperformed by e-commerce’s, and examines the value personalization holds for brick-and-mortar in particular. We also look at what techniques and technologies are available to help retailers identify and track consumers in-store, and how they can be used to bolster their personalization capabilities. Finally, we examine the different channels through which retailers can reach consumers with their personalized offerings in-store.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Amazon, Alibaba, JD.com, Intel, Mastercard, Target, Velocity Worldwide, RetailMeNot, b8ta, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sitecore, Oak Labs, Calabrio, and Alegion.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

  • Consumers say that a personalized shopping experience can inspire loyalty and increases in spending.
  • But brick-and-mortar retailers aren't meeting consumers’ in-store personalization expectations.
  • The nature of online shopping gives e-commerce the upper hand when it comes to personalization.
  • Physical retailers can close the gap in personalization by identifying consumers when they enter, tracking them throughout their journey, and then using that information to inform individualized offerings.
  • To make the most of personalized offerings, retailers must consider how content is being presented to consumers in-store, and what the strengths of each channel are.
  • If physical retailers fail to improve their in-store personalization, they risk losing sales and market share to e-commerce companies, both online and in-store.

In full, the report:

  • Identifies the values of personalization to physical retailers.
  • Details the reasons e-tailers currently offer better personalization than brick-and-mortar stores.
  • Outlines the technologies and processes that can bolster in-store personalization.
  • Discusses how retailers can best present personalized offerings in-store.

Join the conversation about this story »


Saudi Arabia is reportedly paying up to $10,000 to Sudanese militiamen, including child soldiers, to fight in their brutal war in Yemen

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Coalition-backed fighters advance on Yemen’s Red Sea port town of Mocha in this Jan. 11 2017, photo.

  • The New York Times reported on Friday that Saudi Arabia and its allies have recruited thousands of Sudanese soldiers for their war in Yemen, including child soldiers as young as 14 years old.
  • The report says that the Saudi-led coalition paid as much as $10,000 to the soldiers.
  • Many of the soldiers are from the war-torn Darfur region, and see the fighting as the only way to support their families.

Saudi Arabia and its allies are paying Sudanese soldiers, many of whom are between the ages of 14 and 17, as much as $10,000 to fight in their brutal war in Yemen.

David D. Kirkpatrick of The New York Times reported on Friday that the Saudi-led coalition has recruited thousands of militiamen from Sudan to fight in the kingdom's war in Yemen, including child soldiers as young as 14 years old.

Most of the soldiers are from the Darfur region in Sudan, according to the report. Darfur has been devastated by years of civil war and ethnic cleansing. According to the UN, there were still 19,000 child soldiers in South Sudan in October. 

The Times reported that money is the main motivation for the Sudanese soldiers. The Saudi-led coalition paid the equivalent of between $480 and $530 per month, along with additional pay in months where the soldiers faced combat and a one-time $10,000 payment at the end of a six-month tour. The Times noted for comparison that a Sudanese doctor would earn roughly the equivalent of $500 per month.

Many of the soldiers saw the war and the money being paid by the coalition as a way to help their families escape economic despair. The report quoted Hager Shomo Ahmed, a 16-year-old Sudanese veteran of the war in Yemen who was recruited at the age of 14, as saying “families know that the only way their lives will change is if their sons join the war and bring them back money.”

According to the Times, Sudanese soldiers who fought in Yemen said that between 20% and 40% of their units were made up of children.

The Saudi-led coalition denied that there were children among the Sudanese forces in a statement to the Times.

Read more: 7 heartbreaking images show why US lawmakers want to stop supporting the brutal Saudi-led war in Yemen

The war in Yemen has been described as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia and its allies have been fighting against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel movement. Thousands of civilians have died in the fighting and millions more face disease and malnutrition as a result of the conflict.

In December, the US Senate voted to remove American support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, but the measure has not been taken up in the House of Representatives. 

The Times reported that the Sudanese soldiers have bolstered the Saudi-led coalition's ability to continue the war and that they "have insulated the Saudis and Emiratis from the casualties that might test the patience of families at home."

Read the full report at The New York Times »

SEE ALSO: 

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The 19 best places to retire in America where you can buy a house for under $250,000

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  • US News & World Report released its 2019 ranking of the best places to retire in America, and housing affordability was one of the primary determinants. 
  • We filtered US News' ranking to narrow down the list to the cities where a typical home costs less than $250,000.
  • Lancaster, Pennsylvania, came out on top and four other cities in the state appear in the top 20.

Turns out, Pennsylvania is a fabulous — and affordable — place to retire.

That's according to US News & World Report's 2019 ranking of the best places to retire in America. To determine its overall ranking, US News evaluated the 100 largest US metros on six metrics: housing affordability, happiness, desirability, retiree taxes, job market, and healthcare quality. You can read the detailed methodology here.

We filtered the US News list to find the cities where retirees can buy a home for under $250,000 and find a rental under $1,600 a month — that's slightly below the national median asking price for a home and the national median rent, according to Zillow's latest estimates.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Fort Myers, Florida, took the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, on the best places to retire ranking. They also appear in the top two spots when filtered by housing costs, but the list diverges from there. A total of five cities in Pennsylvania appear in the top 20.  

Read more: What a $250,000 home looks like in the biggest city in every state

The housing affordability category was weighted 19.7%, second only to happiness, which was weighted 22.5%; these percentages were determined by a survey of Americans who were asked what the most important considerations are when moving.

To determine housing affordability, US News gathered US Census Bureau data on average annual costs for homeowners (mortgage, utilities, and taxes) and average annual costs for renters (rent and utilities). 

Keep reading to find out the best places to live affordably in retirement.

SEE ALSO: Rich retirees are paying over $1 million to move into luxury communities that operate like 'five-star resorts' with award-winning chefs, wine cellars, and VIP treatment

DON'T MISS: Home values have more than doubled in the US since 1970 — here's how much they've increased in every state

19. Charlotte, North Carolina

Median home price: $200,942

Median monthly rent: $893

Overall rank: 34



18. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Median home price: $200,858

Median monthly rent: $1,040

Overall rank: 31



17. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Median home price: $156,833

Median monthly rent: $873

Overall rank: 29



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

An early retiree who interviewed 100 millionaires discovered nearly all of them got rich using the same 3-step strategy

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  • John, who runs the personal-finance blog ESI Money, has spent the past few years interviewing millionaires.
  • He found that many employed a simple three-step strategy to build wealth: Earn good money, save it, and invest it.
  • Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't take a lucky big risk or an inheritance to become a millionaire.

Sometimes, simplicity is key.

That's particularly the case when it comes to building wealth, according to John, who runs the personal-finance blog ESI Money and retired early at the age of 52 with a $3 million net worth.

John, who doesn't share his last name online, interviewed 100 millionaires over the past few years and found that nearly all of them built their wealth in three simple steps, or what he calls "the old-fashioned way."

"They earned a lot, saved a ton, and invested for a long time,"he wrote. This is in contrast to the common belief that most millionaires inherit their wealth or got lucky with big risks, he said, though one or two of his interviewees did get rich that way.

The median net worth of millionaires John interviewed was $2.3 million. While 90% of them were men, 93% were married, so John said he considered the women millionaires as well. The median age of the people he surveyed was just under 50.

One of the millionaires told John that he and his wife focused on their careers, made good decisions, saved, and had "good fortune with our investments," particularly through his 401(k).

"We started with literally nothing at ages 27 and 25, and never really made big salaries (although if someone had told me when I started out that I'd be making six figures someday, I would have told them they were crazy)," the millionaire told John. "We had some luck selling homes at the right time and made a few dollars as we were forced to move a couple times. But there was certainly nothing strategic about the timing."

He added: "In all honesty the biggest moment in our financial life came when an older coworker literally walked me up to HR back in 1992 and made me sign up for this thing called a 401(k). If he hadn't been so forceful and insistent, I might not even be answering this interview as a millionaire."

Read more: I asked 100 millionaires how they spend, save, and invest, and they told me exactly what I expected to hear

John said this kind of behavior was characteristic for most of the millionaires he interviewed. "They make solid money moves over time and ultimately become wealthy," he wrote.

The simple — and long-lasting — habits are the most important

William D. Danko, the coauthor of the best-seller "The Millionaire Next Door," is also a huge proponent of saving and maximizing income to build wealth — no matter your financial situation or education. In a recent Q&A with The Washington Post, Danko emphasized the importance of saving 20% of your income.

"If you earn and spend everything, you cannot build a significant financial net worth," he said. "You must practice self-imposed financial scarcity. So, if you make $100,000, create a lifestyle that only requires 80% of this, and save/invest the rest."

Committing to saving your income is part of setting financial goals. It's at the heart of building any wealth, Business Insider previously reported. That 20% should be put toward an emergency fund, retirement, and paying down debt.

Danko also advised having more than one income stream to maximize your savings and investments, which will earn compound interest the earlier you start investing and the longer you live.

In fact, investing is yet another way millionaires favor simplicity; John also found that they use a simple investing strategy by investing in low-cost index funds — the same investment strategy championed by the billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

"Becoming wealthy is simple — create a gap between earning and spending for many years," John wrote. "A huge inheritance or hot stock tip is not required."

SEE ALSO: A self-made millionaire who interviewed 100 other millionaires found there's a surprising habit many have in common

DON'T MISS: An early retiree who interviewed 100 millionaires found many of them built their fortunes using a simple investment strategy championed by Warren Buffett

Join the conversation about this story »

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I visited the private terminal at LAX where rich people pay upwards of $4,500 to skip the lines and pull up to their planes in BMWs, and it made me feel like a billionaire

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  • A new terminal called The Private Suite opened at Los Angeles International Airport in late 2017.
  • The Private Suite offers a $4,500-a-year base membership and costs $2,700 to use per domestic flight and $3,000 per international flight for up to four passengers.
  • Food and drinks, a private room and bathroom, an on-site spa, and a personal chauffeur who takes you directly to your plane are included.
  • I recently toured The Private Suite and found it accommodating and comfortable. The best part? No crowds.

I didn't expect to leave The Private Suite feeling like a pampered billionaire.

When I pulled into the driveway on an unusually gloomy Los Angeles morning, a man with a wide, toothy grin and a bulletproof vest emblazoned with "SECURITY" greeted me cheerily. The dichotomy caught me off guard; they'd been expecting me, he said, and the tall gates parted, revealing a modern-looking, one-story building facing the airport runway.

The Private Suite is a terminal built specifically for wealthy travelers flying in and out of Los Angeles International Airport. (I'm not a wealthy traveler by any means, but the folks at The Private Suite made an exception for this story. I get the feeling they treat their paying customers with the same dutiful enthusiasm.)

The independently owned and operated terminal opened in October 2017 and offers a quiet, crowd-free, luxurious space to hang out before boarding a commercial flight.

As you may expect, it's not cheap. But for celebrities routinely hounded by paparazzi in the public terminals at LAX and wealthy businesspeople and families seeking solitude, it's a safe haven offering the best privacy, security, and amenities money can buy.

Here's what it's like inside The Private Suite.

SEE ALSO: I've spent 6 months traveling the world on business, and I've found the perfect way to make airports less miserable

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The Private Suite is owned and operated by security firm Gavin de Becker and Associates. It's located opposite the public LAX terminals, so there's no traffic to battle.



The Private Suite accommodates travelers flying on one of the 70 commercial airlines operating at LAX.



It's the first private terminal at a major US airport, but similar models exist at airports in London; Munich; Frankfurt, Germany; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. My first impression was that it's intimate and isolated, in the best way.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Warren Buffett is the world's third-richest man — see how the notoriously frugal billionaire spends his fortune

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  • Warren Buffett's estimated net worth is $80 billion.
  • But you wouldn't know the investor is America's third-richest man by his frugal lifestyle.
  • Buffett lives modestly and is one of the world's most generous philanthropists, opting to give away most of his billions to charity.

Warren Buffett's net worth is down about $4 billion since March 2018, according to Forbes' real-time net worth tracker. But he's still the world's third-richest person.

Now 88, Buffett's estimated net worth stands at $80 billion — but you wouldn't know it by Buffett's frugal ways.

Still living in the house he bought in the 1950s and driving an equally modest car, Buffett prefers to keep and grow his money rather than take it out of the bank. Not one for lavish purchases, he spends relatively little of his billions — except when it comes to philanthropy. 

Buffett is regarded as one of the most generous philanthropists in the world, having donated more than $46 billion since 2000.

However he uses his money, not much is spent on himself. See how Buffett spends — or doesn't spend — his billions.

SEE ALSO: 24 mind-blowing facts about Warren Buffett and his $87 billion fortune

DON'T MISS: Bill Gates is worth $95 billion and he plans to give most of it away — here's how he spends his money now, from a luxury car collection to incredible real estate

Warren Buffett has a net worth of $80 billion, making him the world's third richest person.

Source: Forbes



He began building his wealth by investing in the stock market at age 11 and currently runs Berkshire Hathaway — but you wouldn't know he's a billionaire by the way he spends his money.

Source:Forbes



He previously told CNBC and Yahoo Finance's "Off the Cuff" that he's "never had any great desire to have multiple houses and all kinds of things and multiple cars."

Source:CNBC



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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