In his first interview since his release on Tuesday, 21 Savage claims he was "definitely targeted" by ICE agents.
The rapper, real name She'yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was released on bond 10 days after he was captured by ICE and enrolled in deportation proceedings.
He told Good Morning America: "I was just driving. And I just seen guns and blue lights. And, then, I was in the back of a car. And I was gone."
ICE claim Abraham-Joseph is a British citizen who overstayed a US visa which expired in 2006.
In his first interview since being released on bond, Rapper 21 Savage has claimed he was "definitely targeted" by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The 26-year-old was released on Tuesday, 10 days after he was captured by ICE agents in Atlanta and enrolled in deportation proceedings.
ICE claim the rapper is a British citizen who is "unlawfully present in the US" after he arrived age 12 in 2005, and outstayed his visa which expired in 2006, spokesman Bryan Cox told INSIDER in a statement.
Good Morning America's Davis asked Savage if ICE told him he was under arrest that day.
"No. They didn't. They didn't say nothing. They just said, 'We got Savage'."
"For the past 9 long days, we, on behalf of She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, known to the world as 21 Savage, have been speaking with ICE to both clarify his actual legal standing, his eligibility for bond, and provide evidence of his extraordinary contributions to his community and society."
"21 Savage asked us to send a special message to his fans and supporters—he says that while he wasn’t present at the Grammy Awards, he was there in spirit and is grateful for the support from around the world and is more than ever, ready to be with his loved ones and continue making music that brings people together."
Abraham-Joseph has said he was in fact born in the UK, but came to the US in 1999, aged seven. ICE say he entered the US legally in July 2005, but overstayed his temporary visa.
Abraham-Joseph's lawyers say he currently has a pending U visa application, submitted in 2017. The visa, reserved for victims of certain crimes, is issued to around 1500-2000 people each year.
The rapper has long spoken of his upbringing in Atlanta, even rapping that he was "straight up out the 6" in his song "Bank Account," referring to Atlanta's Zone 6.
The full interview with the Grammy-nominated rapper will air on Friday morning.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway cut its shareholding in Apple, it largest stock investment, at the end of 2018, a bearish signal amid worries about the tech giant's slowing iPhone sales.
The news sent Apple's shares about 0.5% lower in pre-market New York trading. Shares in Oracle tumbled after Buffett also cut his stake in that company.
Investors follow what Berkshire buys and sells closely because of Buffett's successful track record, and news of his holdings often moves share prices.
Buffett's firm also increased investments in US banks including JPMorgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway cut its shareholding in Apple, it largest stock investment, at the end of 2018, a bearish signal amid worries about the tech Goliath's slowing iPhone sales.
A regulatory filing late Thursday showed that Berkshire Hathaway's stake in the tech giant fell 1% to 249.6 million shares in the three months to December 31 2018, down from 252.5 million in the previous three months.
The news sent Apple's shares about 0.5% lower in pre-market New York trading as of 11.10 a.m in London (6.10 a.m. in New York) on Friday. Buffett also dumped stock of Oracle, sending that stock tumbling 2.9% in premarket trading.
Buffett’s assistant Debbie Bosanek said the shares sold were not under Buffett's direct control. "One of the managers other than Warren had a position in Apple and sold part of it in order to make an unrelated purchase. None of the shares under Warren’s direction have ever been sold," she said in an email to Reuters.
Hedge funds are bailing on Apple
Still, investors follow what Berkshire buys and sells closely because of Buffett's successful track record, and news of his holdings often moves share prices. At 88 years old, the investing guru is among the richest people in the world, worth an estimated $87 billion.
Jana Partners reduced its stake in Apple by approximately 175,000 shares, or 63% of its position.
Soros Fund Management and David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management have both exited their holdings of AAPL.
Apple has struggled to keep investors excited. In its most recent earnings call it announced that revenue from iPhone, its main product, had declined 15%. It also missed its overall revenue guidance. The era of robust smartphone growth seems to be over as the market matures, reaching close to 100% saturation among consumers.
It's a sharp charge from last year. Buffett helped send Apple shares to a record high in May 2018, making it the first trillion dollar company, after loading up on Apple shares.
Apple's fortunes turned later in the year — its shares slid 30% from an October high while its holiday season sales underwhelmed.
Buffett is a bit of a technophobe
Buffett is notoriously sceptical on tech. Buffett doesn't keep a computer on his desk, and he chooses to use a flip phone rather than a smartphone. He's shied away from Google or Amazon shares.
"Buffett cares much more about the underlying fundamental strength of a company and its leadership than what is happening with the company’s stock price," Owen Murray, director of investments at Horizon Advisors, told U.S. News & World Report this week.
The US magazine outlined his investing philosophy: "He loves to identify companies with durable, competitive advantages in their respective industries."
Now he is looking at banks, and Red Hat
Buffett has also made contrarian moves against the rest of the market, such as his $5 billion investment in Bank of America in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
Buffett is bullish on banks again. The filing showed Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway increased its holdings in JPMorgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch despite a 14% drop in the S&P 500 Financials Index in the fourth quarter.
Apple has had a strong start to 2019, with its shares 8% up since the beginning of the year.
Other disclosures on Berkshire's holdings, per the filing:
He added 4.2 million shares in software firm Red Hat, which was acquired by IBM on October 29. It's unclear whether the company had the shareholding before or after the $34 billion acquisition.
Berkshire Hathaway also increased its holdings in regional lenders PNC Financial Services and U.S. Bancorp.
Amazon announced on Thursday that it is abandoning its proposed HQ2 in Queens, Long Island City following fierce political opposition.
The change of direction was welcomed by some politicians and lamented by others.
A 1997 letter to shareholders from Jeff Bezos sheds some light on his approach to reversing big decisions.
Bezos said that big companies have a tendency to think all big decisions are irreversible, when in fact the majority are reversible.
This week Amazon made the shock announcement that it was abandoning its plan to move half of its new HQ2 campus to Queens, Long Island City in New York.
The decision came after hefty political opposition to the plans from politicians such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Michael Gianaris, who represents Long Island City.
Some have described Amazon's sudden change of heart as the multi-billion dollar company throwing its toys out of the pram. Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted that Amazon had walked away, "all because some elected officials in New York aren't sucking up to them enough."
"Rather than addressing the legitimate concerns that have been raised by many New Yorkers Amazon says you do it our way or not at all, we will not even consider the concerns of New Yorkers – that's not what a responsible business would do," the director for communications for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) Chelsea Connor told Business Insider in a statement.
But the u-turn ties into a bigger Amazon philosophy.
In the letter Bezos distinguishes between two types of decision, irreversible and reversible, which he refers to as Type 1 and Type 2.
The first type are "one-way doors" that need long and careful consideration.
"[These] decisions must be made methodically, carefully, slowly, with great deliberation and consultation," Bezos wrote. "If you walk through and don’t like what you see on the other side, you can’t get back to where you were before. We can call these Type 1 decisions."
But, Bezos added, "most decisions aren’t like that – they are changeable, reversible – they’re two-way doors."
He wrote: "If you’ve made a suboptimal Type 2 decision, you don’t have to live with the consequences for that long. You can reopen the door and go back through."
He said these decisions "can and should be made quickly by high judgment individuals or small groups."
Bezos says in the letter that there is a tendency in big organizations to treat decisions as irreversible when actually, they are reversible.
"As organizations get larger, there seems to be a tendency to use the heavy-weight Type 1 decision-making process on most decisions, including many Type 2 decisions. The end result of this is slowness, unthoughtful risk aversion, failure to experiment sufficiently, and consequently diminished invention. We'll have to figure out how to fight that tendency."
A post shared by Orlando Bloom (@orlandobloom) on Feb 15, 2019 at 2:15am PST on
The couple are surrounded by red heart-shaped balloons.
The posts come after Perry's mother, Mary Hudson, posted photos of the couple at what appears to be a Valentine's Day engagement party to Facebook late Thursday evening, captioned: "Look who got engaged on Valentine’s Day!!"
INSIDER has reached out to representatives of both Perry and Bloom to confirm the news.
The couple have been a bit on-and-off, having first started their relationship in 2016 and split in March the following year.
However, they confirmed they were back together at the beginning of 2018 — and things certainly appear to be going well.
"Crackdown 3" will be released on Xbox One and Windows 10 on February 15th.
Microsoft first announced "Crackdown 3" in July 2014, and later revealed that Terry Crews would star as the lead protagonist.
After a lengthy development cycle, "Crackdown 3" feels somewhat dated; but the core game is still a fun throwback to the series' roots.
Crackdown 3 has been a long time in the making, perhaps too long. In many ways the game feels like its predecessors; problem is, "Crackdown 2" came out in 2010. While the first two "Crackdown" games helped define a generation of open world video games on the Xbox 360, the genre has exploded in the past decade thanks to stronger hardware and smarter design.
Microsoft announced "Crackdown 3" nearly five years ago, and the finished project often shows its age. The game arrives on Xbox One and Windows 10 on February 15th, and has essentially been split into two separate games, the story campaign, which can be played alone or with a friend, and the multiplayer modes called "Wrecking Zone." After installing the game, players will get separate icons to boot the version they prefer.
Both Wrecking Zone and the campaign throw the player into New Providence, a dystopian city in the not-too-distance future. Players control a member of The Agency, a super-powered police force. While exploring New Providence on foot or with a variety of vehicles, The Agency fights crime and generally wreaks havok across the city.
Perhaps the strongest selling point of "Crackdown 3" is its multiplayer open world. Players can play through the campaign with a friend, and Wrecking Zone divides 10 players into two teams. Unfortunately, "Crackdown 3" doesn't allow players to team up with their friends to play "Wrecking Zone," but Microsoft plans to patch the matchmaking feature into the game post launch.
While some of the design choices in Crackdown feel less than modern and the story isn't particularly compelling, the core of the game is still enjoyable. I was satisfied casually finding my way through new areas of New Providence without the game forcing me onto a specific path. Compared to more intensely designed games of the current generation, like "Red Dead Redemption 2" or "Assassin's Creed: Odyssey," the basic gameplay loop of "Crackdown 3" offered simple fun.
Those looking for a challenging experience or an engaging story may want to pass on "Crackdown 3," but if you're looking to run, gun and drive your way through a beautiful looking environment, "Crackdown 3" shouldn't disappoint.
"Crackdown 3" will be available on Windows 10 and Xbox One tomorrow, February 15th. The game will be available on Xbox Game Pass on launch too, meaning you can play it for free it you pay for Microsoft's $20 per month video game subscription service. Personally, if "Crackdown 3" wasn't already on your radar, I think Xbox Game Pass will be the best way to try the game out without a $60 investment.
"Crackdown 3" stars Terry Crews as Commander Jaxson, the game's main character.
The "Crackdown 3" campaign stars actor Terry Crews as the squad leader of The Agency, a super-powered police force working to liberate New Providence from the control of an evil corporation, Terra Nova. While Crews's character Commander Jaxson serves as the face of the game, players can select from more than a dozen other playable characters.
You can choose from more than a dozen different playable characters.
As you progress through the game you'll have the chance to unlock new agents by finding their DNA hidden within New Providence. Each character has their own back story and specific perks that affect their stats, but your choice of agent wont really change how the game plays. While the playable agents have occasional quips during the game, their comments don't add much that fleshes out the personality of the characters or the ongoing story of the game.
A freedom fighter using the codename Echo recruits The Agency to help free the city of New Providence.
A man who choked a mountain lion to death during an attack in Colorado has spoken publicly about the encounter.
Travis Kauffman said he initially tried to wrestle with the mountain lion, stab it with sticks and hit it in the head with a rock, but couldn't stop the attack.
He then managed to pin down the mountain lion's neck with his foot, choking it to death.
"I feel like I should go buy a bunch of lottery tickets ... It’s a modern day man vs. nature scenario," Kauffman said.
A Colorado man who choked a mountain lion to death after being attacked said he managed to survive by letting out a "barbarian yell" and jamming his foot into the animal's neck.
Travis Kauffman was jogging alone on a trail in Horsetooth Mountain Park in Colorado on February 5 when he was attacked by a mountain lion, which he then killed without any weapons before heading to a hospital and getting 28 stitches.
He spoke publicly about the encounter this week, saying he will "never be able to live up to the reputation" that his fight has created.
Kauffman, 31, said he heard the bushes rustle behind him, and was "pretty bummed to see a mountain lion chasing after me,"when he turned around.
"I stopped and I threw my hands up in the air and I started shouting. And unfortunately the shouts didn't deter it," he told a news conference in Fort Collins, Colorado, on Thursday.
The cat then lunged at him, grabbing on to his hand and wrist and clawing at his face and neck, Kauffman said.
"That's when my fear response turned into more of a fight response, because I realized how close it was getting to my eyes and I got a claw in my lip."
Kauffman said that he tried to throw the mountain lion off him, causing them to take "a little tumble down the south side of the trail." They then "had a little wrestling match."
Kauffman said he was able to get on top of the animal and pin it down while he tried to find sticks to stab it with. When the sticks kept breaking, he tried to hit it with a large rock, he said.
"It was pretty heavy and it was kind of hard to wield. And I tried to give it a few bashes in the back of the head.
After giving the mountain lion "two pretty good blows to the back of the head," Kauffman said he realised he was "going to have to do something a little more drastic."
"I was able to shift my weight and get a foot on its neck. And at that point I stepped on it, on its neck with my right foot."
The animal continued to thrash, he said, but eventually stopped moving, and its jaws opened. "I was able to kind of scramble back up the hill and get the heck out of dodge."
Kauffman said he was a "bloody mess" when he got to the hospital in a separate interview with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
"I think it’s one of those really weird sensational stories — super rare," he said. "I feel like I should go buy a bunch of lottery tickets ... It’s a modern day man vs. nature scenario."
"I will never be able to live up to the reputation," he said. "The story is bigger than my puny form."
Kauffman said that he wouldn't stop jogging on the trails, but advised other runners to stay vigilant and avoid using headphones.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said that Kauffman did not break any bones or suffer any tendon damage, Denver 7 reported.
CPW said the mountain lion was less than a year old and had died of suffocation, according to the outlet.
The number of US podcast consumers has more than doubled in the past decade — and there's still a long runway for growth.
And the podcast listenership base continues to grow in the US amid declines in consumption of other premium ad environments.
Entertainers, music streaming platforms, and smart speakers will play a role in furthering podcast listenership growth throughout the next five years.
Are your social circles and online feeds always buzzing with everyone’s latest podcast obsession? The number of US podcast consumers has more than doubled over the last decade. And by 2023, Business Insider Intelligence estimates there will be some 106 million regular podcast listeners in the US.
People are getting hooked on audio from a young age, too. Over a quarter (26%) of US consumers over age 12 now listen to podcasts on a monthly basis, a jump from just 12% five years ago.
And while the growing listener base is a huge draw for advertisers, it’s not the real reason they should be exploring podcast campaigns. After all, more than half of overall daily media consumption time in the US is now spent with video. Even so, podcasts have the upper hand.
Why should brands advertise on podcasts?
US podcast ad spend is expected to grow over 110% through 2020 — up to $659 million. But consider for a moment that TV and radio ad spend are already at $69 billion and $18 billion respectively, and this figure suddenly feels tiny. The podcast ad market’s small size implies many brands don’t recognize the valuable advertising opportunity podcasts offer.
When looking at factors beyond pure audience size, podcast listeners present several key benefits that make the medium ripe for success for advertising — and brands would be remiss to overlook them.
Here’s why brands should take podcast listeners seriously:
The majority of regular podcast listeners complete all or most of the podcasts they start. Forty-four percent of monthly podcast listeners finish most of the podcast episodes they start, while 43% finish the entire episode, per Edison Research and Triton Digital.
Listeners are more receptive to ads on podcasts than ads on other mediums. Of US respondents over the age of 18, 55% say they always or sometimes pay attention to podcast ads versus radio (45%), TV (44%), music streaming services (41%), and online video (34%) ads.
Most podcast listeners don't skip past ads. Because most podcast ads are read by the host and baked into podcasts, it can be difficult for listeners to easily and accurately skip past podcast ads without missing podcast content, spurring many to listen through podcast ads entirely.
Want to Learn More?
The Podcast Report from Business Insider Intelligence explores the key drivers affecting podcast listenership growth, detailing the benefits of advertising on podcasts versus other media formats, and outlines the best practices for implementing a successful podcast ad campaign.
In full, the report discusses the barriers that will inhibit future growth in listenership and ad spending, and how these hurdles can be overcome to implement a successful podcast ad campaign and attract more big-budget brands into the space.
1MDB is one of the biggest financial scandals of all-time.
A fraud case involving the Malaysian state-owned investment fund, it involved up to $3 billion that went missing, Hollywood celebrities, and the downfall of the Malaysian prime minister.
We broke down all the major events for you that stretched all the way back to 2009.
It's one of the greatest scandals in financial history. "1MDB" started out as a government plan to fund infrastructure projects in Malaysia but turned into an alleged swindle to tune of more than $3 billion. It brought down Malaysia's prime minister, the prime suspect is still on the run, and Goldman Sachs might be on the hook for crushing fines.
US and Malaysian authorities, as well as those in the UK, Australia and Singapore, among others, are continuing to figure out just what happened, and who is responsible. Malaysia this week filed the first criminal charges for Goldman Sachs and a few ex-bank and fund employees, while lawsuits are still being filed over billions in missing cash. Goldman Sachs says it is cooperating with authorities and will contest the charges.
Somehow actor Leonardo DiCaprio, model Miranda Kerr, and the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat got dragged into the mess, too.
This is the history of 1MDB and the characters that made it.
1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB, was founded in 2009 just four months after Najib Razak became Prime Minister of Malaysia. Ensnared in the scandal, he later lost reelection and was charged with abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in relation to SRC International, a former 1MDB unit. Najib pleaded not guilty charges and has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to 1MDB.
The fund was originally set up to finance infrastructure and other economy-linked deals in Malaysia. But the fund veered into lavish spending, producing films such as “The Wolf of Wall Street” and buying casinos, champagne and “Dustheads,” a painting by US artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
An estimated $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB by high-level officials and their associates between 2009 and 2014, the US Department of Justice has alleged. Razak has consistently denied wrongdoing. The scandal spreads across a number of companies and financial institutions with eye-watering sums involved.
Vanessa Colella spent time as a teacher and conducting research on AIDS education before eventually landing at Citigroup, where she serves as the bank's chief innovation officer.
Colella, who also heads up Citi Ventures, gave advice for young people looking to get involved in fintech.
Years ago, the route most took to secure jobs at big banks was fairly clear. Go to a top college with a large network, and major in finance. Follow that up with an MBA, and you're well positioned for a long career on Wall Street.
But the convergence of technology and finance has created new opportunities for those without that typical background.
Vanessa Colella is the epitome of that point. Colella, who now serves as Citi's chief innovation officer and the head of its venture investing arm, started her career with Teach for America as a junior-high-school science teacher in Brooklyn. She followed that up researching AIDS education and then consulting in McKinsey's tech and media practice.
When Colella joined Citi as a marketing chief in 2010, it was her first role within a bank. The way Colella sees it, unorthodox routes like hers will be far more common going forward.
"In today's career, it's unlikely that people are going to have a linear progression of, I came into a company and then I got here and then I moved up and then I got here," Colella told Business Insider. "It's far more likely that they're going to do lots of different things, and what they're going to rely on is the skills that they've built, the perspective that they've built, and what they're passionate about."
Colella said students interested in learning more about fintech should try to speak to specific people at companies about their responsibilities and the skills they use. If one can gain insight into different roles where they can apply skills they like using, it's more likely they'll find a company that will keep them challenged and satisfied.
"Never claim you know something you don't. The world moves very fast. We do not live in a world where you need to have all the answers. We live in a world where it's much better to know how to ask the right questions. Pretending that you have all the answers will only, even as a teacher, get you into a very bad spot."
Amazon cancels its planned HQ2 in New York City. The tech giant had announced it would bring 25,000 jobs to a campus in Queens' Long Island City neighborhood. Local opposition quickly arose about the company's decision to accept up to $3 billion in tax breaks.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire trims his giant stake in Apple. A regulatory filing late Thursday showed that the stake fell by 1% to 249.6 million shares in the three months that ended December 31, down from 252.5 million in the previous three months.
Economic data is on deck. Industrial production and capacity utilization numbers for January will cross at 9:15 a.m. ET, and the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer-sentiment survey for February is due at 10 a.m.
Just because you founded a high-flying tech company doesn't mean you can't be asked to leave.
Steve Jobs himself was once ousted by Apple (or left voluntarily, depending on who you believe), and spent years running his own company before coming back into the fold as CEO.
More recently, Uber founder Travis Kalanick was ousted as CEO, following a year of scandals for the company.
Here are 8 tech executives who were once ousted from the companies they helped to build.
Just because you founded one of the most successful tech companies in the world, it doesn't mean that job security is automatically guaranteed.
Steve Jobs was once ousted from Apple (or voluntarily left, depending who you ask), spending years running his own startup before returning to the fold as CEO. More recent examples include Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick, who left the company after a year of scandals, and Martin Eberhard, the ousted cofounder of Tesla.
They weren't the only ones, either.
Take a look at 8 tech executives who were ousted from companies they helped to build:
Apple cofounder Steve Jobs famously left (or was ousted, depending on who you believe) in 1985, after clashing with CEO John Sculley. 12 years later, Apple bought Jobs' startup NeXT Computer, bringing him back into the fold.
Perhaps ironically, Jobs orchestrated an ouster of his own: Just months after returning to Apple, Jobs convinced the board to oust then-CEO Gil Amelio. Jobs became CEO in 1997, and the rest is history.
Uber founder Travis Kalanick resigned as CEO in July 2017, following long months of scandals for the company.
Kalanick left Uber in July 2017, following a long string of scandals — from a #DeleteUber campaign that saw 200,000 people delete the ride-hailing app, to allegations of a toxic company culture from former engineer Susan Fowler, and more.
Ultimately, things came to a head when Uber's board urged Kalanick to step down. In July of 2017, he did. Since then, Kalanick has been dabbling in various investments, including an initiative to try a new kind of food delivery service.
Jack Dorsey founded Twitter with Ev Williams in 2006. Two years later, Williams fired him from the CEO role — even though it was Dorsey who came up with the idea for the micro-blogging site in the first place.
But this didn't stop Dorsey from founding $31 billion Square, the mobile payments platform, in 2009. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg even tried to hire Dorsey after he left Twitter.
However, in 2015, Dorsey was brought back to Twitter as interim CEO, taking over for former leader Dick Costolo. Not long after, Twitter dropped the "interim" from Dorsey's job title.
In a sweeping new report on the state of venture capital, Goldman Sachs analysts revealed new findings about the performance of private and public markets.
The firm found that — over the last two years — the biggest newly public companies would've created more value for themselves by staying private, because the actual value they've earned in the public market has significantly lagged.
In other words, it may have paid to stay private between 2017 and 2018.
This dynamic is historically unusual, underscoring both a broader trend in companies staying private longer, and the importance of monitoring how this year's IPO slate performs.
Indeed, this shift has only appeared twice in the past 25 years, both at harrowing times for US markets — once before the dotcom-bubble burst, and once before the financial crisis, the analysts said.
"Fortune favors the bold," the oft-quoted proverb goes. It also favors the private market.
A comprehensive new report from Goldman Sachs found that — over the last two years — the biggest newly public companies would've created more value for themselves by staying private. That's because the actual value they've earned in the public market has significantly lagged.
That's historically rare, according to the bank's analysts, who found that gains in the public market generally tend to outpace those of the private market.
Indeed, the trend over the last two years in value creation migrating from the public to private spheres has only occurred twice over the last quarter-century — between 2006 and 2007, prior to the financial crisis, and between 1998 and 2000, prior to the tech bubble.
While noting that any kind of analysis attempting to quantify private-market performance can be "extremely difficult," the analysts found a clear shift in "alpha from public to private markets."
"With the formation of mega funds like Softbank's $100bn Vision Fund, record levels of dry powder in other funds, and continued strength in VC fundraising driving larger dollar deals on average, the data would suggest that investors and management teams increasingly prefer to exit via later stage funding rounds given greater scrutiny over public financial disclosures and uncertainty around relative availability of growth capital post-IPO," the analysts led by Heath Terry wrote.
The report underscores both the broader trend in companies staying private for longer periods of time and the importance of monitoring how large IPOs expected in 2019 perform.
See below for one chart the analysts included, which illustrates just how striking the difference was in 2017 and 2018 when it came to gain in private companies, relative to the public market.
Indeed, some years did in fact see private gains top those in the public market, but never two years in a row — other than the two periods that Goldman Sachs highlighted.
The analysts explained their methodology in comparing the public and private markets.
"While attempting to quantify performance in the private markets is extremely difficult and subject to significant survivorship bias, in our analysis, we looked at returns of the top 25 IPOs annually by gross proceeds, as well as our companies under Internet coverage, from 1995 to 2018 (refer to our methodology section for additional details) to understand how the value created as public companies, in the form of market cap, compared to relative to the value created as the private companies. We utilize the market value of each company at the first market close post-IPO to benchmark."
While a slew of high-profile companies like Uber, Lyft, Slack, and Airbnb are expected to debut as public companies this year, experts told Business Insider's Becky Peterson last month that elements like the partial government shutdown and stock-market volatility have thrown a wrench in some of those plans.
One of the most notable IPOs over the last couple of years that significantly underperformed the S&P 500 Snap, which has seen shares fall 45% since listing in early 2017.
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.
Automakers are on the verge of a prolonged period of rapid change to the way they do business, thanks to the combined disruptive forces of growing on-demand mobility services and self-driving cars, which will start to come to market in the next couple of years.
By the end of 2019, Google spinoff Waymo, Uber, and GM all plan to have fleets of autonomous cars deployed in various US cities to provide on-demand rides for passengers. By eliminating the cost of the driver, these rides are expected to be far cheaper than typical Uber or Lyft rides, and even cheaper than owning a car for personal transportation.
Many industry experts are predicting that such cheap on-demand autonomous rides service will result in a long-term decline in car ownership rates — PwC predicts that the total number of cars on the road in the US and EU will drop from 556 million last year to 416 million in 2030.
This decline in car ownership represents an enormous threat to automakers’ traditional business models, forcing them to find alternative revenue sources. Many of these automakers, including GM, Ford, and Daimler, have plans to launch their own on-demand ride-hailing services with fleets of self-driving cars they will manufacture, potentially giving them a new stream of recurring revenue. This could set them up to take a sizeable share of a market that is expected to be worth trillions by 2030.
However, competing in the on-demand mobility market will pit legacy automakers against ride-hailing services from startups and tech giants that have far greater experience in acquiring and engaging consumers through digital channels. To succeed in what will likely be a hyper-competitive market for urban ride-hailing, automakers will have to foster new skill sets in their organizations, and transform from companies that primarily produce vehicles to ones that also manage vehicle fleets and customer relationships.
That will entail competing with startups and tech giants for software development and data science talent, as well as reforming innovation processes to keep pace with digital trendsetters. Automakers will also need to create unique mobile app and in-car experiences to lure customers. Finally, these automakers will face many overall barriers in the market, including convincing consumers that self-driving cars are safe, and dealing with a complex and evolving regulatory landscape.
In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, delves into the future of the on-demand mobility space, focusing on how automakers will use fleets of self-driving vehicles to break into an emerging industry that's been dominated thus far by startups like Uber and Lyft. We examine how the advent of autonomous vehicles will reshape urban transportation, and the impact it will have on traditional automakers. We then detail how automakers can leverage their core strengths to create new revenue sources with autonomous mobility services, and explore the key areas they'll need to gain new skills and capabilities in to compete with mobility startups and tech giants that are also eyeing this opportunity.
Here are some of the key takeaways:
The low cost of autonomous taxis will eventually lead car ownership rates among urban consumers to decline sharply, putting automakers’ traditional business models at risk.
Many automakers plan to launch their own autonomous ride-hailing services with the self-driving cars they're developing to replace losses from declining car sales, putting them in direct competition with mobility startups and tech giants looking to launch similar services.
Additionally, automakers plan to maximize utilization of their autonomous on-demand vehicles by performing last-mile deliveries, which will force them to compete with a variety of players in the parcel logistics industry.
Regulatory pressures could also push automakers to consider alternative mobility services besides on-demand taxis, such as autonomous on-demand shuttle or bus services.
Providing these types of services will force automakers to make drastic changes to their organizations to acquire new talent and skills, and not all automakers will succeed at that.
In full, the report:
Forecasts the growth of autonomous on-demand ride-hailing services in the US.
Examines the cost benefits of such services for consumers, and how they will reshape consumers’ transportation habits.
Details the different avenues for automakers to monetize the growth of autonomous ride-hailing.
Provides an overview of the various challenges that all players in the self-driving car space will need to overcome to monetize their investments in these new technologies in the coming years.
Explains the key factors that will be critical for automakers to succeed in this emerging market.
Offers examples of how automakers can differentiate their apps and services from competitors’.
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Kanye West surprised his wife Kim Kardashian on Valentine's Day with a live performance from Kenny G in their living room.
He also filled the room with long-stemmed roses in individual vases.
Kardashian shared a number of videos of the surprise to her Instagram stories, calling Kanye the "best husband ever."
Kanye West proved to be pretty romantic on Valentine's Day.
The hip hop artist surprised his wife, Kim Kardashian, with a living room filled with long-stemmed roses in individual vases, complete with a live performance by American saxophonist Kenny G.
Kardashian shared a series of videos on her Instagram Story on Thursday showing the live performance.
At one point, she pans the camera to a smiling Kanye by her side.
The saxophonist said he got emails from friends of Kanye around 11 p.m. on Wednesday asking him to perform.
Luckily, he was in town and happens to live nearby.
"I thought sure, let's do this, it sounds really fun," he told TMZ in a video.
"They were dancing a little bit, I saw a few kisses back and forth. It's very flattering to be the person asked to be in an intimate environment with lovers."
He even went on to hint at a musical collaboration with him and Kanye.
After the performance, Kim went on to share a number of videos to her story showcasing the gifts she and her family had received from the rest of the Kardashian clan, including stunning rose bouquets from Kendall and Kylie, and elaborate gift baskets for her and Kanye's three kids.
"My family does it really big for Valentine's Day because we love each other so much," she tells the camera.
She later opened up a heart-shaped cookie and a heart-shaped pizza, putting the icing on the cake of a pretty perfect-looking Valentine's Day.
Uber has sued New York City to block a cap on new ride-hailing vehicle licenses.
The company says it supports a living wage for drivers, but that the cap will not have the intended effect of fighting congestion.
Earlier this month, Lyft sued to block the implementation of a new minimum wage for drivers, saying the methodology unfairly favors Uber.
New York City's cap on new ride-hailing vehicles amounts to a "ban first, study later" approach, Uber argued in a lawsuit filed Friday in New York State Supreme Court.
In August, the city council passed a 12-month cap on new for-hire vehicle licenses, which Uber fought heavily at the time. Friday's lawsuit was a last-ditch effort by the company to continue to provide what it says are good jobs to drivers, many of whom are first-generation immigrants.
"Rather than rely on alternatives supported by transportation experts and economists, the City chose to significantly restrict service, growth and competition by the for-hire vehicle industry, which will have a disproportionate impact on residents outside of Manhattan who have long been underserved by yellow taxis and mass transit," the lawsuit reads.
"By choosing to ban first and study later, the City has blamed FHVs for a problem without making any attempt to determine whether capping FHVs would meaningfully address the problem," it continued.
The City Council’s new law guarantees a living wage for drivers, and the administration should not have blocked New Yorkers from taking advantage of it by imposing a cap. We agree that fighting congestion is a priority, which is why we support the state's vision for congestion pricing, the only evidence-based plan to reduce traffic and fund mass transit.
A spokesperson for the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Uber suit.
During an interview with WNYC's Brian Lehrer in January, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio expressed continued support for the cap, in order to to stop a "race to the bottom" in wages.
"We finally put caps on Uber and the other ridesharing services so that we could create more fairness and stop this race to bottom with the wages of drivers,"he told Lehrer.
"We're going to put ongoing caps in place on the for-hire vehicles and we're going to work to increase the wages and benefits the drivers," he said.
"Toy Story 4" is in theaters this summer and fans can expect to see a lot of new toys coming to stores starting this spring.
INSIDER received a preview of Mattel's upcoming line of 2019 releases, including its anticipated "Toy Story 4" products.
The coolest item we saw was an affordable walking and talking Buzz Lightyear, which will be available this spring for $29.99.
Ahead of the New York Toy Fair, held Saturday through Tuesday at New York City's Javits Center, INSIDER received an early sneak peek at Mattel's most-anticipated releases in 2019. "Toy Story" products will definitely be in high demand with a new sequel out in June.
One toy in particular got our attention. It's a walking and talking Buzz Lightyear — but more on that in a bit.
Fans young and old will be introduced to a new line of toys featuring Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Bo Peep, and more. In addition to dolls and action figures of Bo Peep, you can expect to see a lot of everyone's favorite space ranger, Buzz.
One will glow in the dark with his own spaceship, and another one has over 20 phrases to hear, but the coolest one INSIDER was able to see was a prototype of that Buzz Lightyear figure we mentioned above.
A post shared by @ thetoysyouwant on Feb 15, 2019 at 10:45am PST on
Once the small switch on Buzz's side is slid to the on position and you press the red button on Buzz's front, stand back and the space man will walk back and forth as it goes through a list of new phrases voiced by Tim Allen.
Among the phrases we heard were:
"10-4, rescue location, the antique store."
"The terrain here seems a bit unstable."
"Heads up, Buzz Lightyear coming through."
"Watch out! Watch out!"
"Follow me, Woody's close. I know it."
"Exploring unchartered territory."
For anyone who grew up with "Toy Story," or even younger children who are just being introduced to the character, it's quite something to see the seven-inch action figure moving around on its own. It doesn't have any controls. It just marches forward and back. I was also pretty impressed that the retail price is $29.99.
Disney and Pixar's "Toy Story" Ultimate Walking Buzz Lightyear will be available this spring. It's recommended for ages 3 and up.
"Toy Story 4" will be in theaters Friday, June 19, 2019.
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.
The gig economy is becoming a core element of the labor market, pushed to the fore by platforms like Uber and Airbnb. Gig economy workers are freelancers, such as journalists who don’t work for one publication directly, freelance developers, drivers on platforms like Uber and Grab, and consumers who rent out their apartments via Airbnb or other home-sharing sites.
Gig economy workers are not employed by these platforms, and therefore typically don't receive conventional employee perks, such as insurance or retirement options. This has created a lucrative opportunity to provide tailored insurance policies for the gig economy.
A number of insurtech startups — including UK-based Dinghy, which focuses on liability insurance, and US-based Slice, which provides on-demand insurance for a range of areas — have moved to capitalize on this new segment of the labor market. These companies have been busy finding new ways to personalize insurance products by incorporating emerging technologies, including AI and chatbots, to target the gig economy.
In this report, Business Insider Intelligence examines how insurtechs have begun addressing the gig economy, the kinds of policies they are offering, and how incumbents can tap the market themselves. We have opted to focus on three areas of insurance particularly relevant to the gig economy: vehicle insurance, home insurance, and equipment and liability insurance.
While every consumer needs health insurance, there are already a number of insurtechs and incumbent insurers that offer policies for individuals. However, when it comes to insuring work equipment or other utilities for freelancers, it's much more difficult to find suitable coverage. As such, this is the gap in the market where we see the most opportunity to deploy new products.
The companies mentioned in this report are: Airbnb, Deliveroo, Dinghy, Grab, Progressive, Slice, Uber, Urban Jungle, and Zego.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:
By 2027, the majority of the US workforce will work as freelancers, per Upwork and Freelancer Union, though not all of these workers will take part in the gig economy full time.
By personalizing policies for gig economy workers, insurtechs have been able to tap this opportunity early.
A number of other insurtechs, including Slice and UK-based Zego, offer temporary vehicle insurance, which users can switch on and off, depending on when they are working.
Slice has also developed a new insurance model that combines traditional home insurance with business coverage for temporary use.
Other freelancers like photojournalists need insurance for their camera, for example, a coverage area that Dinghy has tackled.
Incumbent insurers have a huge opportunity to leverage their reach and well-known brands to pull in the gig economy and secure a share of this growing segment — and partnering with startups might be the best approach.
In full, the report:
Details what the gig economy landscape looks like in different markets.
Explains how different insurtechs are tackling the gig economy with new personalized policies.
Highlights possible pain points for incumbents when trying to enter this market.
Discusses how incumbents can get a piece of the pie by partnering with startups.
In November, Matt Kuchar won his first tournament in four years, taking home $1.3 million in prize money.
He won the tournament with a substitute caddie, David Giral Ortiz, but paid him only $5,000 rather than the customary 10% afforded to caddies in a tournament win.
After receiving criticism from around the golfing world, Kuchar has apologized to Ortiz and vowed to pay him $50,000 for his time on the bag.
Matt Kuchar will make good with substitute caddie David Giral Ortiz after all.
Kuchar came under criticism in the past week after news came out that he had paid Ortiz just $5,000 for his weekend carrying the bag at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November 2018. Kuchar went on to win the tournament — his first top finish in four years — and take home the $1.3 million winner's share of the prize money.
Caddies are customarily given a percentage of their golfer's prize money, and when Ortiz's poor tip became public, the golf world began to turn on Kuchar.
Things went from bad to worse for the 10th-highest earning golfer of all time when he responded by criticism by saying, "For a guy who makes $200 a day, a $5,000 week is a really big week."
Now, Kuchar has backpedaled on his defense, promising to pay Ortiz the $50,000 he asked for, and issuing an apology.
"I plan to call David tonight when I'm off the course to apologize for the situation he has been put in, and I have made sure he has received the full total that he has requested," Kuchar said in a statement.
He went on to apologize for the way he initially responded to the situation.
"This week, I made comments that were out of touch and insensitive, making a bad situation worse,'' Kuchar said. "They made it seem like I was marginalizing David Ortiz and his financial situation, which was not my intention. I read them again and cringed. That is not who I am and not what I want to represent. My entire tour career, I have tried to show respect and positivity. In this situation, I have not lived up to those values or to the expectations I've set for myself.''
In addition to his payment to Ortiz, Kuchar has also promised to donate back to the Mayakoba Golf Classic, saying he never meant to bring any negativity to the event.
While the debacle was messy for Kuchar, it looks as though things will end with a happy ending. Hopefully, both parties can walk away satisfied, and Ortiz can be on the bag again this year when Kuchar defends his title at the tournament.
Democrats responded to President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency on Friday by calling for executive action on what they say are more pressing crises, including gun violence and climate change.
"Our next President should declare a #NationalEmergency on day 1 to address the existential threat to all life on the planet posed by Climate Change," Rep. Ilhan Omar argued.
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney brushed off concerns that Trump has set a new precedent for future presidents with his declaration.
Democrats on Friday responded to President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency to build barriers on the United States' border with Mexico by calling for national emergencies to address what they say are more pressing issues, including gun violence and climate change.
On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed Trump's unilateral move to redirect funds to build an extension of the border wall as an unconstitutional "end run around Congress."
She argued that the president should instead declare a national emergency over the "epidemic of gun violence in America," citing the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Thursday.
"Want to talk about a national emergency? Let's talk about today," Pelosi said, referring to the Parkland shooting. "That's a national emergency. Why don't you declare that emergency, Mr. President? I wish you would."
Pelosi added that the move sets a new precedent for future administrations and that she doesn't support any president bypassing Congress to make policy.
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat and particularly outspoken proponent of gun control, picked up on Pelosi's argument on Friday.
"100 people die from guns every day," he tweeted. "That's a national emergency."
100 people die from guns every day. That’s a national emergency.
If Trump gets away w this border emergency declaration, then a Dem President can declare a gun violence emergency and institute universal background checks and an assault weapons ban by executive action.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, a progressive freshman Democrat from Minnesota, argued that if Trump can declare a national emergency on the border, "Our next President should declare a #NationalEmergency on day 1 to address the existential threat to all life on the planet posed by Climate Change."
Democrats also argued that the declaration is an unconstitutional reaction to Congress' unwillingness to fully fund the border wall. And many, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, charged Trump with "faking a crisis."
But in a conference call with reporters before Trump's announcement on Friday, Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, brushed aside concerns that the president's move is unprecedented and illegal.
"I saw Nancy Pelosi said yesterday this sets a precedent for the Democrats to declare a gun emergency the next time they're in the Oval Office. That's completely false," he added. "If Democrats could've figured out a way to do it, they would have done that already."
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I tried the 10-step routine to see what it's like in real life, and though there are drawbacks (like price and storage) my skin has rarely looked so bright, clear, or youthful. Find the products I tried below.
Since BB cream landed in the US in 2011, the fascination with skincare-first K-Beauty products has evolved into a full-blown stateside obsession.
And though K-Beauty includes more than just skincare products, those are the ones that drive the most fervent fascination and loyalty.
Like cult-favorite French pharmacy products, K-beauty products prioritize the skin itself — the first defense — over reactionary products like makeup. Formulas are meticulously designed to target specific skincare concerns, are meant to be used in a specific order, and are packed with natural and inventive ingredients meant to boost the skin's elasticity, luminosity, and hydration — with common sense insurance like sun protection forming a non-negotiable pillar of each beauty routine.
Most famous of the K-beauty regimens is the 10-step Korean skincare routine, designed to doggedly address each concern in a methodical, perfectly balanced routine for a flawless complexion.
Makeup remover and oil cleanser: removes makeup and draws out other oil-based impurities (sebum, SPF, and pollution grime).
Water-based cleanser: dissolves the water-based impurities (dirt and sweat) that an oil cleanser may not pick up.
Exfoliator: physical and chemical exfoliation that cleans pores, sloughs away dead skin cells, and helps other products absorb better and work more efficiently.
Toner: removes leftover residue from cleansers, repairs the skin's natural barrier, and helps prep the skin to better absorb the following moisturizers.
Essence: lightweight liquids packed with a concentrated blend of hydrating, anti-aging, complexion-enhancing ingredients.
Treatments: boosters, serums, and ampoules designed to directly treat specific skin concerns like acne, fine lines, and hyperpigmentation.
Sheet Masks: concentrated versions of an essence designed in sheet form so that, with prolonged contact, the skin fully absorbs the nutrients and moisture.
Eye Cream: hydrates and prevents dark circles, puffiness, and crow's feet.
Moisturizer: seals in moisture to plump up skin and smooth fine lines.
Sun protection: protects the skin from short and longterm damage from UV rays.
To see how it works in person, and whether the seemingly outrageous 10 steps really are worth the time commitment, hype, or cost, I tried out the 10-Step Routine myself through the Sephora of K-Beauty, Soko Glam— which offers four curated 10-step routines for common skin types, as well as tailored recommendations.
What's it like in real life?
First, I took Soko Glam's free 1:1 Skin Consultation, which is where you sign up for a slot online and a company Skin Expert calls to discuss your current skincare routine, skin type, and skincare concerns. After, the Skin Expert sent me an email with a personalized product list curated for me, plus detailed instructions on which products to begin with, which products to phase in later, and how often to use each. (The box of products should also come with instructions for how to order each product, though each should also have this information on the bottle). You can continue to contact your Skin Expert for questions and concerns, too, and you'll retain the same Skin Expert to ensure holistic feedback.
In person, the 10-step Korean skincare routine is less intense than I imagined, and I ended up completely loving the ritual. I was already using a makeup remover, face wash, toner, moisturizer, eye cream, and sunscreen with intermittent (though admittedly random) face masks, and adjusting to the 10-Step routine was relatively painless. Knowing that someone else with expertise designed the plan for me, though, was what made getting a set of products the most appealing. I didn't have to do the legwork, but I felt confident they would combine well and ultimately work towards my skin goals.
All in all, it takes me about 15 minutes to complete the 10-step routine when I'm not supposed to be using a sheet mask (two to three times per week), and I've scheduled sheet masks for evenings where a little self-care sounds appealing. However, sheet masks get expensive, and I'll probably administer them less frequently and swap in less expensive alternatives in the future.
The major cons to the practice are that the bottles are plentiful — they take up shelf space and are not easy to travel with, something that became an issue for me as a frequent flyer that wanted to maintain a consistent routine. However, you can easily winnow products (there's also a 5-step routine, $115) or transfer some of the contents into travel-friendly bottles. Secondly, it's expensive at $199— and while, when broken down, you're not spending that much per product, you are buying them all at once, and you may need to replace them around the same time later. Lastly, you may not want to dedicate 15 minutes of the day to skin care.
The major pros are that with such an involved routine there's virtually no way your skin will not improve. I followed the routine dutifully, and I saw pretty fantastic improvements in my skin across the board: fewer breakouts, more even tone, a legitimate "glow" that was luminous rather than oily, and noticeably smaller pores. The 10-Step routine was a good intro to K-Beauty with the burden of research outsourced to an expert, and I discovered new Holy Grail products I definitely wouldn't have on my own. Most unexpected, though, was the benefit of creating a ritual of self-care. I genuinely look forward to the process — which makes me more consistent and my results more reliable — and, even if I don't re-up on each product in the future (and I probably won't, given the cost), I will continue to set aside the time each morning and night to invest in my skin. It feels good, and it's a nice way to begin and end each day.
The Peptide No-Sebum Mild Gel Cleanser seeps into skin to clear excess sebum and blackheads with both AHAs and BHAs. Simultaneously, calamine powder and a blend of 20 amino acids helps balance skin and minimize hyperpigmentation.
White truffle is considered the hero ingredient because it speeds up cell renewal, regularly revealing newer and younger-looking skin.
This tub has 30 single-use exfoliating pads. They use a powerful combination of chemical exfoliants (lactic acid, glycolic acid, and lemon, orange, and papaya extracts) to clear clogged pores.
Vitamin C helps fade acne scars, and the textured pad physically buffs away dead skin cells.
Now, Kuchar has backpedaled on his defense, promising to pay Ortiz the $50,000 he asked for, and issuing an apology.
