• A video of Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California being confronted by children from an activist organization went viral on Friday.
• A group of children and a few adults from the Sunrise Movement are seen holding up posters and urging Feinstein to support the Green New Deal.
• The Green New Deal is a number of congressional proposals that seek to boost investment in clean-energy jobs and projects as part of a broader effort to address climate change.
• Since its inception, the Sunrise Movement has staged demonstrations against Democrats who have not backed its proposals, including sit-ins at Rep. Nancy Pelosi's office.
• Feinstein appeared to be aware of the group's agenda and touted her own credentials in front of the children during the videotaped encounter.
• "Well, you know better than I do," Feinstein said to an older activist. "So I think one day you should run for the Senate. And then you do it your way."

A video of Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California being confronted by children from an activist organization went viral on Friday, with some people accusing her of being dismissive toward the children.

In the video uploaded by the Sunrise Movement, an organization that describes its mission as "building an army of young people to stop climate change," a group of children and a few adults are seen holding up posters and urging Feinstein to support the Green New Deal.

"We are trying to ask you to vote yes on the Green New Deal," one child said at Feinstein's offices in San Francisco.

"Ok, I'll tell you what," Feinstein replied. "We have our own Green New Deal."

The Green New Deal is a set of congressional proposals that seek to boost investment in clean-energy jobs and projects as part of an effort to address climate change. But the plan, spearheaded by lawmakers like Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, still faces opposition from some Democrats, including Feinstein.

"At this stage, I am not a supporter of it because it's been looked at very cursorily and if you read the language, it's a very big program with a huge governmental cost," Feinstein told the Daily Caller earlier in February. "None of that's been looked at."

The Sunrise Movement, which was founded in 2017 by six college graduates, reportedly drew up plans for the Green New Deal and worked with Ocasio-Cortez before her election. Since its inception, the group has staged other demonstrations against Democrats who have not backed its proposals, including sit-ins at Rep. Nancy Pelosi's office.

"Everybody who is not with us, we need to kick out in 2020 and elect champions who are going to stand for the Green New Deal," Sunrise Movement cofounder Will Lawrence said in January, according to PRI's The World. "And if we do that, we have a window of opportunity to actually pass this thing in 2021."

The group also said it has plans"to confront" Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky in Washington, DC, on Monday. McConnell is forcing a vote for the proposal in the Senate, which is expected to fail in the Republican-majority chamber and places Democrats in an awkward situation.

Feinstein appeared to be aware of the group's agenda and touted her own credentials in front of the children.

"You know what's interesting about this group," Feinstein said. "I've been doing this for 30 years. I know what I'm doing. You come in here, and you say it has to be my way or the highway. I don't respond to that."

"So, you know, maybe people should listen a little bit," Feinstein added.

At one point, the conversation went off the rails after an older group member confronted Feinstein.

"I'm trying to do the best I can," Feinstein said. "Which was to write a responsible resolution that ..."

An older activist interrupted: "Any plan that doesn't take bold, transformative action is not going to be what need."

"Well, you know better than I do," Feinstein replied. "So, I think one day you should run for the Senate. And then you do it your way."

"Great, I will," the activist said.

Another video of the exchange revealed a roughly 15 minute conversation between the activists and Feinstein. In the video, Feinstein offers an internship for one of the activists and thanks the group for meeting with her.

In a statement on Friday night, Feinstein characterized the encounter as a "spirited discussion."

"Unfortunately, it was a brief meeting but I want the children to know they were heard loud and clear," she said. "I have been and remain committed to doing everything I can to enact real, meaningful climate change legislation."

"I always welcome the opportunity to hear from Californians who feel passionately about this issue and it remains a top priority of mine."

SEE ALSO: Watch the priceless reactions from Democrats during Trump's gun-control meeting

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The downfall of US brick-and-mortar commerce is overblown — despite sharp gains in e-commerce, which will nearly double between now and 2021, the lion’s share of purchasing continues to take place in-store. And that’s unlikely to change anytime soon, since the online environment can’t yet compensate for the reasons customers like brick-and-mortar shopping.

That means the point-of-sale (POS) terminal, which merchants use to accept payments of all types and to complete transactions, isn’t going anywhere. But that doesn’t mean it’s not changing. As merchants look to cut costs amidst shifts in consumer shopping habits, POS terminals, which were once predominantly hardware offerings used exclusively for payment acceptance, are evolving into full-service, comprehensive solutions. These new POS terminals are providing an array of business management solutions and connected offerings to complement payment services. 

This is where the smart terminal, a new product that’s part-tablet, part-register, comes in. Merchants are increasingly seeking out these offerings, which afford them the connectivity, mobility, and interoperability to run their entire business. And that’s shaking up the space, since it’s not just legacy firms, but also mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) players and newer upstarts, that offer these products. 

As merchants begin demanding a wide variety of payment solutions, terminal providers are scrambling to meet their needs in order to maintain existing customers and attract new ones. This is leading to rapid innovation and increased competition in both the POS terminal hardware and software spaces.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has put together a detailed report on the shifts in this landscape, how leading players can meet them, and who’s doing it most effectively.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Evolving merchant needs are impacting POS terminal players’ strategies. Merchants select terminal providers based on four key areas: payment functionality, user experience (UX), over-the-top (OTT) offerings, and distribution/customer service. Terminal firms need to innovate in these areas, or risk falling behind.
• Larger players need to double down on existing success. Smaller players can often be more nimble, which gives them the opportunity to innovate more quickly and build in-demand solutions. That’s a disadvantage to market leaders; however, they can, and should, leverage their massive distribution networks when upgrading or updating their offerings. Meanwhile, smaller players can win by focusing on niches instead.
• It’s all about the platform. No single feature is likely to make or break a merchant’s decision to pursue a specific provider. Above all, they want a robust ecosystem that can evolve over time. 

In full, the report:

• Explains the current state of in-store retail and why terminal firms need to evolve to meet it.
• Groups features that matter to merchants and explains why they’re important and what terminal providers stand to gain from focusing on them.
• Determines the leading players in the space.
• Assesses how the leading players stack up, and which offerings are the most comprehensive.
• Issues recommendations about how to develop an attractive platform that best serves merchants' needs as the market continues to shift. 

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In recent years, we've seen a ballooning of activity in fintech — an expansive term applied to technology-driven disruptions in financial services. And 2018 has been no different, with fintechs' staggering influence on the market evidenced by record funding levels for the industry — by Q3 2018, overall funding was already up 82% from 2017’s total figure, according to CB Insights.

Additionally, this year marked a watershed moment for the industry, with the once clear distinction between fintechs and financial services proper now blurred significantly. Virtually every incumbent financial institution (FI) is now looking inward and engaging in an innovation drive, spurred on by competition from fintechs. As such, incumbents are now actively investing in, acquiring, and collaborating with their fintech rivals.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence details recent developments in fintech funding and regulation that are defining the environment these startups operate in. We also examine the business model changes being employed among different categories of fintechs as they strive to embed themselves further in mainstream finance and prove sustainability. Finally, we consider which elements of the fintech industry are rapidly rubbing off on incumbent financial services providers, and what the future of fintech will look like.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Funding Circle, GreenSky, Transferwise, Ant Financial, Nubank, Cellulant, Oscar Health, Stripe, One97, UiPath, LianLian Pay, Wacai.com, Gusto, Toast, PingPong, Flywire, Deposit Solutions, Root, Robinhood, Atom, N26, Revolut, OneConnect, PolicyBazaar, WeCash, Zurich, OneDegree, Dinghy, Vouch Insurance, Laka, Cleo, Ernit, Monzo, Moneybox, Bud, Tandem, Starling, Varo Money, Square, ING, Chase, AmEx, Amazon, Monese, Betterment, Tiller Investments, West Hill Capital, Square, Ameritrade, JPMorgan, eToro, Lendy, OnDeck, Ripple, Quorom, Chain, Coinbase, Fidelity, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Bank of America, TransferGo, Klarna, Western Union, Veriff, Royal Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Canada, Facebook, ThreatMetrix, Relx, Entersekt, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Gemalto, Lloyd's of London, Kingdom Trust, Aviva, Symbility LINK, eTrade, Allianz, AXA, Broadridge, TD Bank, First Republic Bank, BBVA Compass, Capital One, Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse, Ally, Goldman Sachs.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• Fintech funding has already reached new highs globally in 2018, with overall funding hitting $32.6 billion at the end of Q3.
• Some new regions, including South America and Africa, are emerging on the fintech scene.
• We've seen considerable scaling in older corners of the fintech ecosystem, including among neobanks and alt lenders.
• Some fintechs, including a number of insurtechs, have dipped into new markets to escape heightened competition.
• Emergent areas like blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT), as well as digital identity, are gaining traction.
• Many incumbents are undertaking business transformations that aim to reimagine everything from products and services to front-end systems and back-end processes.

 In full, the report:

• Details the funding and regulatory landscape in the US, Europe, and Asia.
• Gives an overview into a number of fintech segments and how they've changed over the past year.
• Discusses how incumbents are reacting to fintechs in order to stay relevant in the changing financial services sector.
• Evaluates what the future of fintech will look like and what trends to look out for in the coming year.
  

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• The US head of equity derivatives at Bank of America Merrill Lynch quit this week after less than two years at the bank.
• He's headed to LMR Partners, a $5 billion hedge fund launched in 2009 and run by former UBS traders.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch's top equity derivatives boss in the Americas is leaving after less than two years, and he's headed for the hedge fund LMR Partners.

After an eight-year run with Barclays, William "Bill" Hillegass joined BAML in 2017, heading up equity client solutions and running equity derivatives out of New York.

He quit the firm, Business Insider reported this week, and he's joining LMR Partners, a multistrategy fund founded and run by the former UBS traders Ben Levine and Stefan Renold, according to people familiar with the matter.

Hillegass, LMR Partners, and Bank of America declined to comment.

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Hillegass may have crossed paths with Levine and Renold at UBS, where he started his career in 2003. He left for Lehman Brothers in 2007 just before the financial crisis, followed by his run at Barclays, according to his LinkedIn profile.

LMR, which was founded in 2009 and has offices in Hong Kong, London, and New York, manages more than $5 billion in assets, according to its website.

A private-equity fund run by Goldman Sachs Asset Management bought a minority stake in the hedge fund last year, according to Reuters.

Hillegass will manage the portfolio out of the New York office, the people said.

He is one of a slew of sell-side equity derivatives traders to switch posts in the past year amid a rebound in the business and a war for talent.

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• Some people have said they've been able to make thousands of dollars by working a few hours per week instead of working a more standard salaried job.
• Personal finance blogger Sam Dogen said he retired at age 34 and now lives entirely off of his passive income.
• In his book, Timothy Ferriss wrote that he was able to go from making $40,000 per year and working 80 hours per weekto making $40,000 per month and working four hours per week.

Although a 40-hour workweek is seen as quite standard for many Americans, most people would rather be making more money while working fewer hours. Retiring early with plenty of cash to spare is a common financial goal and some people seem to have discovered the secret to building up their savings account without spending decades working a salaried job with a major time commitment.

Here are a few people who have cracked the code to making profits outside of the standard salary system.

After working in finance for 13 years, Sam Dogen wrote that he retired at 34 years old and he now lives entirely off of his passive income

In a 2018 article he wrote for CNBC, Sam Dogen said that at the beginning of his career he was working 70 or more hours per week, but he "escaped full-time work for good" 13 years later at the age of 34.  He wrote that one of his steps to success is that he's been saving and investing ever since he got his first job.

According to the CNBC article, he began putting away at least 50% of his income after taxes as soon as he got his first post-college job at an investment bank. He wrote that he used those funds to buy rental properties, stocks, bonds, and CDs(savings certificates with a fixed maturity date and interest rate) in order to build passive income streams. "Start your passive income journey as soon as possible because it takes a long time to build something significant," he wrote. 

In 2009, Dogen started a personal finance site called the Financial Samurai where he educates others about maximizing their income and productivity. And as his blog and profits from his investments and rental properties grew, Dogen wrote that he found himself making enough money to retire at age 34.

According to his CNBC article, Dogen and his wife don't have day jobs and they live entirely off of passive income. According to his blog, in 2017 he made about $211,000 in passive income alone. He also wrote that he and his family continue to save money bydriving a car worth less than 1/10th of their gross income, never buying new clothes, and taking advantage of free activities in the city during weekdays. 

He later wrote that he only works about 25 hours a week on his blog as of 2018.

Timothy Kim said he immigrated to the US with just $500 and by the age of 31 he had become a self-made millionaire

When he was a teenager, Timothy Kim and his parents immigrated to the US from Hungary. At the time, the Korean-born author said he had only $500 in his pocket. According to CNBC, he made his first successful investment in the stock market at age 19 and by the age of 31, Kim was a self-made millionaire. 

In 2018, Kim told CNBC that he attributes his success to listening to the advice of highly successful people. He said a former college professor who had become wealthy after making successful investments in the stock market told Kim and his fellow classmates to invest and so he did.

Kim said even though he was only making minimum wage at the time, he invested $1,000 into the stock market. And as he began to make profits, he continued to invest. "Every time I had extra money, I kept throwing it in [the stock market]," he told CNBC. 

In a 2017 article for Budgets Are Sexy, he wrote that he doesn't see a point in "being the richest man in the graveyard," and that he considers money to be a transient kind of happiness. Rather than focusing on accruing more wealth, what he really cares about is building a legacy. "I want to create an impact on the world, an impact on society, in our communities, all over the globe! I want to create businesses that employ tens of thousands of people," he wrote. He currently runs the personal finance blog Tub of Cash.

"Efficiency is the name of the game," Kim wrote on his blog earlier this year."Work is uncorrelated with success ... Don't listen to the 'hustle 24/7' nonsense you see everywhere." He also wrote that the amount of time you spend working is not a measure of wealth.

Entrepreneur Timothy Ferriss said he made more money working four hours per week than he did from working 80

Timothy Ferriss is an author, podcaster, and self-help guru who rose to prominence for his book "The 4-Hour Workweek," a New York Times bestseller.

Aftergraduating from Princeton University with a degree in East Asian Studies in 2000, Ferris started working in the sales department of a San Jose tech start-up.In an interview with ABC News, Ferriss explained how he used his spare moments at work to build an online business selling a performance-enhancing supplement called BrainQuicken. As his online business grew, Ferriss said he found himself working up to 90 hours per week.

Frustrated and exhausted after three years of what he called "overload," Ferriss said he decided to drastically reduce his workload by outsourcing much of his daily work and only checking his email once a week. In his book, Ferriss wrote that he was able to go from making $40,000 per year and working 80 hours per weekto making $40,000 per month and working four hours per week.

Today, per his Linkedin page, Ferriss is an author, an investor, and an advisor to companies like Uber and Evernote. Ferriss told ABC his secret to maximizing his income while minimizing his work hours is cutting back on checking his email and employing virtual assistants to take care of everyday tasks and responsibilities that eat up valuable time. 

SEE ALSO: 11 tips to make more money on eBay

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• The Internet of Things is fueling the data-based economy and bridging the divide between physical and digital worlds.
• Consumers, companies, and governments will install more than 40 billion IoT devices worldwide through 2023.
• The next five years will mark a pivotal transformation in how companies and jurisdictions operate, and how consumers live.

Being successful in the digital age doesn’t just require knowing the latest buzzwords; it means identifying the transformational trends – and where they’re heading – before they ever heat up.

Take the Internet of Things (IoT), for example, which now receives not only daily tech news coverage with each new device launch, but also hefty investments from global organizations ushering in worldwide adoption. By 2023, consumers, companies, and governments will install more than 40 billion IoT devices globally. And it’s not just the ones you hear about all the time, like smart speakers and connected cars.

To successfully navigate this changing landscape, individuals and organizations must understand the full extent and functionality of the “Things” included in this network, the key drivers of each market segment, and how it all relates to the work they do every day.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has forecasted the start of the IoT’s global proliferation in The IoT Forecast Book 2018— and the next five years will be transformational for consumers, enterprises, and governments.

• Consumer IoT: In the US alone, the number of smart home devices is estimated to surpass 1 billion by 2023, with consumers dishing out about $725 per household — a total of over $90 billion in spending on IoT solutions.
• Enterprise IoT: Comprising the most mature segment of the IoT, companies will continue pouring billions of dollars into connected devices and automation. By 2023, the total industrial robotic system installed base will approach 6 million worldwide, while annual spending on manufacturing IoT solutions will reach about $450 billion.
• Government IoT: Governments globally are ushering in IoT devices to spur the development of smart cities, which would be equipped with innovations like connected cameras, smart street lights, and connected meters to provide a real-time view of traffic, utilities usage, crime, and environmental factors. Annual investment in this area is expected to reach nearly $900 billion by 2023.

Want to Learn More?

People, companies, and organizations all over the world are racing to adopt the latest IoT solutions and prevent growing pains amidst a technological transformation. The IoT Forecast Book 2018 from Business Insider Intelligence is a detailed three-part slide deck outlining the most important trends impacting consumer, enterprise, and government IoT — and the key drivers propelling each segment forward.

Representing thousands of hours of exhaustive research, our multipart forecast books are considered must-reads by thousands of highly successful business professionals. These informative slide decks are packed with charts and statistics outlining the most influential trends on the leading edge of your industry. Keep them for reference or drop the most valuable data into your own presentations to share with your teams.

Whether you’re newly interested in a topic or you already consider yourself a subject matter expert, The IoT Forecast Book 2018 can provide you with the actionable insights you need to make better decisions.

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• R. Kelly's lawyer Steve Greenberg addressed reporters on Friday night after the singer was arrested in Chicago on sexual-abuse charges, saying he doesn't believe the women accusing Kelly of sexual abuse.
• "I think all the women are lying. Yes,"Greenberg said. "This has become, 'Hey I can say R. Kelly did something, boom.'"
• Kelly surrendered to the Chicago Police Department at approximately 8:15 p.m. local time on Friday where he was arrested. He has been charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
• Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx made the announcement of the charges earlier on Friday, alleging that between 1998 and 2010 the singer sexually abused four girls between the ages 13 and 17.

R. Kelly's lawyer Steve Greenberg addressed reporters on Friday night after the singer was arrested in Chicago on sexual-abuse charges, saying he doesn't believe the women accusing Kelly of sexual abuse.

"I think all the women are lying. Yes,"Greenberg said. "This has become, 'Hey I can say R. Kelly did something, boom.'"

Kelly surrendered to the Chicago Police Department at approximately 8:15 p.m. local time on Friday where he was arrested. He has been charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx made the announcement of the charges earlier on Friday, alleging that between 1998 and 2010 the singer sexually abused four girls between the ages 13 and 17.

In his statement to the media following Kelly's arrest, Greenberg lashed out at the state's attorney and lawyers Michael Avenatti and Gloria Allred.

Read more:R. Kelly surrenders to police amid criminal sexual-abuse charges

"Unfortunately the state's attorney now succumbed to public pressure,"he said. "The pressure from grand standers like Michael Avenatti and Gloria Allred — and brought these charges."

He called Kelly "strong" and said he was going to be "vindicated on all of these charges."

Rumors and allegations of sexual abuse have followed Kelly for decades. In 2008 he was acquitted of charges of child pornography, and has settled with several women over sexual-misconduct allegations.

In July 2017, the #MuteRKelly movement began, and the #MeToo hashtag proliferated shortly after in the fall that same year.

In January, the documentary "Surviving R. Kelly" aired on Lifetime, where several alleged victims spoke about the alleged abuse. After the documentary aired, Foxx called for victims to come forward.

Last week Avenatti, who also represents adult actress Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress who alleges she had an affair with President Donald Trump, announced that he gave prosecutors video evidence that allegedly incriminates Kelly.

After Greenberg's comments Avenatti tweeted, "Steve Greenberg is exactly what R Kelly deserves. Happy to be living rent free in this guy’s head."

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The way incumbent banks onboard and verify the identities of their customers online is inconvenient and insecure, resulting in lowered customer satisfaction and loyalty, and security breaches leading to compensation payouts and legal costs.

It’s a lose-lose situation, as consumers become disgruntled and banks lose business. The problem stems from the very strict verification standards and high noncompliance fines that banks are subject to, which have led them to prioritize stringency over user experience in verification. At the same time, this approach doesn't gain banks much, since the verification methods they use to remain compliant can actually end up compromising customers' personal data.

But banks can't afford to prioritize stringent verification at the cost of user experience anymore. Onboarding and verification standards are increasingly being set by more tech-savvy players within and outside their industry, like fintechs and e-retailers. If banks want to keep customers loyal, they have to start innovating in this area. The trick is to streamline verification for clients without compromising accuracy. If banks manage to do this, the result will be happier and more loyal customers; higher client retention and revenue; and less spending on redundant checks, compensation for breaches, and regulatory fines.

The long-term opportunity such innovation presents is even bigger. Banks are already experts in vouching for people’s identities, and because they’re held to such tight verification standards, their testimonies are universally trusted. So, if banks figure out how to successfully digitize customer identification, this could help them not only boost revenue and cut costs, but secure a place for themselves in an emerging platform economy, where online identities will be key to carrying out transactions. 

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• The strict verification standards that banks are held to have led them to create onboarding and login processes that are painful for clients. Plus, the verification methods they use to remain compliant can actually end up putting customers' personal data at risk. This leaves banks with dented customer satisfaction, as well as security breaches and legal costs.
• Several factors are now pushing banks to attempt to remedy the situation, including a tougher regulatory environment and increasing competition from agile startups and tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Facebook, where speedy onboarding and intuitive service is a given.
• The trick is to streamline verification for clients without compromising accuracy, something several emerging technologies promise to deliver, including biometrics, optical character recognition (OCR) technology, cryptography, secure video links, and blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT). 
• The long-term opportunity such innovation presents is even bigger. Banks are already experts in vouching for people’s identities, so if they were to figure out how to successfully digitize customer identification, this could help them secure a valued place, and relevance, in a modernizing economy.

In full, the report:

• Looks at why identity verification is so integral to banking, and why it's becoming a problem for banks.
• Outlines the biggest drivers pushing banks to revamp their verification methods.
• Gives an overview of the technologies, both new and established but repurposed, that are enabling banks to bring their verification methods into the digital age.
• Discusses what next steps have to happen to bring about meaningful change in the identity verification space, and how banks can capitalize on their existing strengths to make such shifts happen.

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The proliferation of e-commerce has transformed free shipping and same-day delivery from perks to table stakes — and retailers are paying the price. With daily parcel volumes surging and customers increasingly unlikely to foot the bill, companies have been tasked with finding new ways to offer speedy shipments without eating costs.

Among the most popular strategies is crowdsourced delivery, the Uber model helping online shops solve the most expensive part of shipping: the last mile problem. Like Uber and other ride hailing apps, a number of crowdsourced delivery solutions have been cropping up over the past few years to ease these pains by connecting customers directly with local couriers. And it’s not just startups either; Amazon, the world's undisputed e-commerce leader, is investing big in crowdsourcing deliveries.

How much does Amazon spend on shipping?

“Free shipping” comes at a high cost. According to Amazon’s 2017 annual report, the company spent $21.7 billion in shipping last year — a number that includes sortation, delivery center, and transportation costs. This is nearly double the $11.5 billion it spent on shipping in 2015. And as the expectation of free, same-day delivery becomes the standard for online consumers, even giants like Amazon need to seek alternative solutions.

The crowdsourcing solution to the last mile problem

The last mile of delivery is the most expensive and time-consuming part of fulfillment for retailers and their logistics partners, comprising 53% of the overall cost of shipment. Crowdsourcing takes the onus off of companies, instead connecting customers directly with local couriers to expedite deliveries and cut down on costs.

The crowdsourcing model is already popular among meal and grocery delivery and, seeing the success of startups like Uber, Airbnb, and GrubHub, e-commerce retailers are now eyeing it to fulfill their online orders. As a result, general use crowdsourced delivery companies have emerged to meet this need.

Here’s a look at how three companies - Amazon Flex, Hitch, and Deliv - are trying their hand in the shipping industry — and what’s coming up next.

Amazon Flex - Deliver with Amazon

Launched in 2015 and piloted in Seattle, Amazon Flex lets customers order and receive packages through its on-demand delivery service, Prime Now, which guarantees free one- and two-hour deliveries. For Prime customers with already high expectations for prompt delivery, not much changes; the service primarily markets itself as a side gig for couriers.

For the most part, the app is only open to people who have cars (except in select regions allowing commercial bicycles), so those who want to make deliveries on bike or foot might have to look elsewhere. The service is particularly attractive to rideshare drivers who may want to make extra money without having strangers or potentially disruptive passengers in their cars. Anyone 21 or older with a smartphone, car, and valid driver’s license can log into the app and schedule their availability to start making deliveries.

Shipments can originate at an Amazon location, store, or restaurant. Drivers use their smartphone camera and GPS to scan packages and get turn-by-turn directions to their destinations. As long as they deliver the package within the allotted time frame, couriers make $18-25 an hour — all through a cashless transfer to their digital wallet on the app.

Learn more about Amazon Flex.

Hitch - Crowdsourced Delivery

Founded in 2014, Tampa-based startup Hitch gives consumers, “the choice to be Shippers, Travelers, or both.” The platform touts “turning your commute into cash” by pairing up shippers (the people placing the orders) with travelers (the local couriers) who are already heading in the direction of the delivery.

Users create profiles on the app to join the socially vetted community, where they can then rate one another and verify their accounts by adding bank account information. Shippers put out requests to have packages delivered, and Travelers can input travel information to see if there are any available deliveries along their route.

The app uses GPS to find the quickest route and provide tracking, as well as camera functionality to show proof of delivery. All payments are exchanged through Hitch’s third-party payment processing partner, Stripe.

Learn more about Hitch.

Deliv - Same-Day Delivery

Deliv is a general use last mile solution offering same-day service to over 4,000 omnichannel businesses in 35 cities across the country. Some of its biggest partners include Macy’s, Best Buy, Walmart, and IBM.

Rather than just fulfilling ad hoc deliveries for consumers, Deliv seeks to be a long-term business partner solving companies’ last mile problem — evidenced by its breakdown into Deliv Small Business, Deliv Enterprise, and Deliv Fresh for groceries. It offers SLAs, performance metrics, and integrations into business’ online checkout processes.

And the company is growing. In February, 2018, it launched Deliv Rx to extend these same-day services to patients, doctors, pharmacies, hospitals, labs, and clinics. Deliveries can include things like prescriptions, x-rays, medical equipment, documents, and even pet medicine.

Learn more about Deliv.

Growth & Future of Crowdsource Shipping

Want to learn more? The Crowdsourced Delivery Report from Business Insider Intelligence examines the rise of the crowdsourcing model in the last mile delivery space.

In this report, we detail the top use cases for crowdsourced deliveries, as well as the benefits and challenges of using this model for delivering online orders. We also provide insights into how to optimize crowdsourced deliveries for e-commerce and, lastly, we explain the long-term potential of startups appearing in the crowdsourced delivery space as automation plays a bigger role.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• Retailers are looking for ways to deliver goods faster to consumers' doorsteps to stave off Amazon's threat and meet customer expectations.
• To accomplish that, retailers and delivery providers are zeroing in on the "last mile" of fulfillment, the most expensive and time-consuming part of the delivery process, which is when a package reaches the customer's address.
• Startups like Postmates, Instacart, and others are looking to disrupt the last mile delivery space by leveraging the "Uber model," and connecting businesses to non-professional couriers who can deliver goods instantly.
• Crowdsourcing can drastically speed up deliveries in urban areas, where there is a high density of deliveries and potential couriers to be matched.
• However, as delivery volumes increase, crowdsourced delivery startups will need to further optimize their deliveries to improve cost efficiencies.
• Many of the deliveries these startups perform today will likely be automated in the future, raising the possibility that these startups may eventually look to incorporate new technologies like delivery drones or self-driving delivery vehicles.

In full, the report:

• Details the factors driving investment and growth in crowdsourced delivery startups.
• Examines the benefits and drawbacks of using crowdsourcing to deliver online orders.
• Explains how crowdsourced delivery startups can improve their cost efficiencies to tackle greater delivery volumes.
• Explores the role that crowdsourcing will play in the future of delivery once automated delivery options, like drones and robots, arrive.

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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.

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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• Tesla rolled out a new "dog mode" last week, an update which keeps the car air-conditioned to prevent dogs from overheating, as well as displaying a message assuring passers-by that the dog is safe.
• Spokespeople for PETA and the RSPCA told Business Insider that owners shouldn't assume the feature is foolproof, and that technology can fail.
• They advised that instead of relying on dog mode, owners should leave their pooches at home with plenty of water.

Tesla last week rolled out "dog mode" as part of a software update, designed to keep dogs safe and cool inside the car. However animal welfare group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) warns that the new feature — while well-intentioned — is not the best idea for dog owners.

The idea for dog mode seems to have come about after someone tweeted Tesla CEO Elon Musk with the idea in October.

The tech mogul, who like to includes quirks in his cars such as the ability to dance to the trans Siberian orchestra, and farting unicorn Easter eggs, simply replied "yes."

Read more:Elon Musk got into the weirdest fight over a farting unicorn

Last week the update was rolled out along with "sentry mode," which causes the car to blare loud classical music if it senses someone trying to break in.

A Tesla spokeswoman said in an email to Business Insider that dog mode "keeps your dog at a comfortable temperature in your car while letting people passing by know that the owner will be back soon."

Tesla released a video last Wednesday showing off how dog mode works.

Animal groups have their doubts. When contacted by Business Insider, a spokeswoman for PETA said that while dog mode is a nice idea, she would caution against using it.

"We thank Tesla for thinking about the dogs who lose their lives in cars every single summer, but we caution that the 'dog mode' function isn't foolproof and could provide a false sense of security, as engines and air conditioning can cut out. The notice in the window telling passers-by that everything is all right is also cause for concern, as it might dissuade someone from intervening if the technology does malfunction. The safest way for anyone to protect dogs when temperatures soar is simply to leave them at home — with plenty of water," she said.

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) — the UK's leading animal charity — had similar concerns.

"Technology can fail and it isn't worth the risk of injury to your pet to put them in this situation, we would advise you leave them at home or with a trusted friend or dog-sitter if you know you are going to be away a longer time."

In the US 56 pets died inside hot cars in 2018, most of them dogs according to PETA. The RSPCA was unable to provide the exact number, but said that during a heatwave from June 1 to July 24 2018, its emergency hotline received 3,832 calls.

Tesla did not comment directly on PETA and the RSPCA's stance.

You can find advice for how to respond if you see a dog in a locked car on PETA's website. If you are based in the UK, the RSPCA's advice is to to call 999 if you see a dog in distress in a car on a warm day.

SEE ALSO: Tesla is bleeding executives, and experts say it may create problems for the company

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NOW WATCH: The science behind why your phone shuts down when it's cold outside

• Up to 25 Tory MPs are preparing to support a plan to take a no-deal Brexit off the table in a bid to force hardline Eurosceptics to support the deal.
• The Cooper-Letwin plan would force the prime minister to seek a Brexit delay instead of pursuing no deal if her current plan doesn't win the backing of parliament.
• Moderate MPs think that taking no deal off the table could force hardline Brexiteers to support the prime minister's Brexit plan.
• An MP behind the plans said that a win for the amendment would fire a "warning shot" to those MPs opposing to the deal.

LONDON — A plan by Remain-supporting MPs to force Theresa May to take a no-deal Brexit off the table could be the key to passing her Brexit deal, growing numbers of Conservative MPs now believe.

A Brexit amendment, due to be brought forward next week by Labour MP Yvette Cooper and Conservative MP Oliver Letwin, seeks to force the prime minister to request a delay to Brexit.

The amendment would not automatically delay Brexit. However, supporters of May's deal have told Business Insider that they believe it will be a sufficient "warning shot" to bring Conservative Brexiteers back into the fold and are now planning to support it.

"I can confidently say there will be 25 or 30 Tory MPs [in the centre-ground Brexit Delivery Group of Conservative MPs] who would support Cooper-Letwin," a prominent member of the group told Business Insider.

One member of the group, which is largely in favour of passing May's deal, said that a win for the amendment would fire a "warning shot" to those MPs opposing to the deal as it would create a choice between the PM's deal and a lengthy delay to Brexit. They said this would "sharpen the minds" of the European Research Group of hardline Brexit-supporting MPs given that the Cooper-Letwin option was an "unappetising fallback option."

"It is only a situation when the withdrawal agreement has been declared dead that we would reluctantly have to concede that Cooper-Letwin is the only means of buying some extra time to make sure we don't fall off a cliff," said the MP.

An earlier form of the amendment was defeated by 24 votes in parliament in January with all but 17 Conservative MPs voting against it, but a tweaked version is set to return to the Commons in a series of crunch votes on Wednesday.

Another Conservative MP also told Business Insider that a handful of Labour MPs who abstained from voting against the Cooper amendment in January appear ready to back it, while another handful who voted against it now appear ready to abstain.

"If we do have a vote on Cooper-Letwin it will pass," said the MP. "I could easily see amendment being carried by 10 to 14 votes," the MP said.

There is a chance that the amendment will not be put before the Commons at all, as there is a slim chance Theresa May will bring back a revised Brexit deal to parliament before then instead, but Downing Street has dismissed talks of an imminent breakthrough.

Will the 'warning shot' to Brexiteers work?

The prime minister's current Brexit dilemma comes in the form of the European Research Group, the band of Tory MPs led by Jacob Rees-Mogg who say a no-deal Brexit would be preferable to the prime minister's deal.

Many in the ERG, which numbers around 60 MPs, are happy to keep opposing the prime minister's deal because they are relaxed about the alternative.

But the Cooper plan seeks to turn that alternative on its head, and present MPs with a different choice: May's deal or a lengthy Brexit delay, which could mean no Brexit at all.

There are some questions as to whether there is even time for the Cooper plan to work, given threats from Brexit-supporting peers and the tight legislative timetable it would need to squeeze through.

But those backing the plan believe that the Commons and Lords would be able to change their standing orders and force the legislation through if parliament had voted for such a plan. 

A win for the amendment would be the start of a lengthy parliamentary process and would not immediately take no deal off the table.

But those Tory MPs threatening to support it believe that a win for the plan on Monday could be enough to bounce Eurosceptic opponents into supporting the withdrawal agreement.

Moderate Tory MPs have certainly detected a softening in tone from their ERG colleagues in recent weeks, and believe some — although not all — are preparing to support the prime minister's deal.

"There are so many ifs and buts in the next few days," said one. "But I'm hoping that people will see the deal that comes back will be just about enough to avoid Cooper-Letwin as a fallback position."

Another told Business Insider last week that "The dynamics among the the ERG [pro-Brexit European Research Group of Conservative MPs] is changing."

"The ERG are splintering and lots of them are coming around to the deal through gritted teeth."

They added: "I say to them 'look you're playing a really dangerous game here that may end up in no Brexit at all' and while some of them still aren't listening to that argument, lots of them are now starting to."

SEE ALSO: Theresa May prepares for multiple Brexit rebellions as Conservative MPs threaten to 'end the government'

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NOW WATCH: Watch President Trump announce deal to end the government shutdown for 3 weeks

• China is assembling a massive trade project — the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — which aims to connect the country with new infrastructure.
• Many of these projects pass through Xinjiang, a region in western China home to the beleaguered Uighur Muslim people.
• Beijing has been cracking down on Uighur life in on Xinjiang. Officials say its repression is a necessary counter-terror operation, but experts say it's actually to protect their BRI projects.

The Uighurs, a mostly-Muslim ethnic minority in Xinjiang, western China, are living in one of the most heavily-policed and oppressive states in the world. This map helps explain why.

People in Xinjiang are watched by tens of thousands of facial recognition cameras, and surveillance apps on their phones. An estimated 2 million of them are locked in internment camps where people are physically and psychologically abused.

China's government has for years blamed the Uighurs for a terror, and say they saying the group is importing Islamic extremism in Central Asia.

But there's another reason why Beijing wants to clamp down on Uighurs in Xinjiang: The region is home to some of the most important elements of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China's flagship trade project.

The BRI, which went into effect in 2013, aims to link Beijing with some 70 countries around the world via railroads, gas pipelines, shipping lanes, and other infrastructure projects. It is considered President Xi Jinping's pet project, and an important part of his political legacy.

The map above shows Xinjiang's position along various BRI infrastructure projects.

A trillion-dollar reason to crack down on Xinjiang

It is divided between six land routes, collectively named the Silk Road Economic Belt, and one maritime route, the Maritime Silk Road. Xinjiang is home to many projects along the Silk Road Economic Belt, as the map indicates.

China is estimated to have invested between $1 trillion and $8 trillion into the project, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said.

Trade in goods between China and other countries along the BRI totalled $1.3 trillion in 2018 alone, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing China's Ministry of Commerce.

Read more:China's $1 trillion infrastructure project could encourage the spread of invasive bird and reptile species

Experts point out that China's growing emphasis on BRI projects coincides with Beijing's crackdown in Xinjiang.

China has accused militant Uighurs of being terrorists and inciting violence across the country since at least the early 2000s, as many Uighur separatists left China for places like Afghanistan and Syria to become fighters.

But its campaign of repression only stepped up in the past two years, under the rule of Chen Quanguo, a Communist Party secretary who previously designed the program of intensive surveillance in Tibet.

Normal people in Xinjiang have found themselves disappeared or detained in internment camps for flimsy reasons, like setting their clocks to a different time zone or communicating with people in other countries, even their relatives.

Read more:This man's family vanished in China's most oppressed region. Last month he saw his son for the first time in 2 years, in a Chinese propaganda video.

Rushan Abbas, a Uighur activist in Virginia, told Business Insider: "This has everything to do with the Xi Jinping's signature project, the Belt and Road Initiative, because the Uighur land is in the heart of the most key point of Xi Jinping's signature project."

Abbas is one of many Uighurs abroad currently swept up in China's mission to silence Uighurs. Her sister and aunt went missing in Xinjiang cities six days after Abbas criticized China's human rights record in Washington, DC. She believes her family's disappearance is a direct consequence of her activism.

Read more:Relatives of China's oppressed Muslim minority are getting blocked online by their own family members, who are terrified to even tell them how bad their lives are

Adrian Zenz, an academic expert on Chinese minority policy, told The New York Times earlier this year: "The role of Xinjiang has changed greatly with the BRI," and that China's ambitions have turned Xinjiang into a "core region" of economic development.

'Dog-and-pony shows' to Xinjiang

Beijing has made extra efforts to make sure countries involved in the BRI don't speak out about Xinjiang.

Since last December, Chinese authorities have invited dozens of journalists and diplomats from at least 16 countries — many of which, like nearby Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan, are taking part in the BRI — to highly-controlled tours of Xinjiang's re-education camps.

China has held up the tours as proof they have nothing to hide in the region. It euphemistically calls the camps "free vocational training" that make life "colorful."

Bizarre photos from the press trip show ethnic Uighur men and women putting on dance and musical recitals inside classrooms, operating sewing machines, and learning the words to pro-China songs from a textbook.

China is planning another trip later this month for diplomats from Pakistan, Venezuela, Cuba, Egypt, Cambodia, Russia, Senegal, and Belarus, Reuters reported.

But representatives from the United Nations and activists from groups like Human Rights Watch — who have campaigned, unsuccessfully, for access into the region — have not been invited.

Sophie Richardson, the China director for Human Rights Watch, wrote last month: "Beijing has a long history of diplomatic dog-and-pony shows, and the diplomats' visit is no substitute for a credible, independent assessment."

But the show tours have worked for some of those countries.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the charge d'affaires at Pakistan's embassy in China, told the state-run Global Times tabloid: "Our visit reinforced my perceptions about this region that it has a multicultural and multi-ethnic identity, that it is critical for the development of the western regions of China and that it is an important node for regional connectivity under the Belt and Road initiative."

"Xinjiang is thus ready to play a critical role in the development of the Belt and Road initiative."

SEE ALSO: Pakistan abruptly stopped calling out China's mass oppression of Muslims. Critics say Beijing bought its silence.

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• Deutsche Bank has repeatedly been in the news for the wrong reasons of late and the impact is being felt at deeper levels than before. 
• The bank has seen a string of issues dog its performance of late with its disappointing results and lagging share price just the tip of the iceberg with investors sending Deutsche's cost of funding higher. 
• The bank's funding is now more expensive than that of smaller Spanish lenders such as BBVA or Caixabank which raises serious questions about the market's view. 
• Deutsche Bank also recently admitted it lost a hefty $1.6 billion on a bad bond bet. 

Deutsche Bank's descent into becoming the sick man of the European banking market has been a bumpy ride.

Germany's largest lender's share price has tumbled dramatically in recent months after a series of scandals, including its offices being raided, and alleged involvement in the Danske Bank money laundering debacle, roiled its stock.

Deutsche Bank was hit again when it missed its fourth quarter revenue results with its share price nearly halving in the 12 months to the start of February

Eyebrows were also raised recently when the bank paid 180bp (basis points, a 100th of a per cent) over the benchmark for a two-year, €3.6 billion ($4 billion) funding deal, a steep rate for a short term financing.

On a seven-year bond deal the bank paid 230bp, which was an even higher rate than smaller Spanish lender Caixabank paid for a five-year bond (225bp), according to IFR. 

The bank's issue was further evidenced by a deal completed Thursday by another Spanish lender, BBVA, who paid just 130bp over the benchmark for a five-year, €1 billion senior non-preferred deal as part of its 2019 funding plans.

It means Deutsche Bank paid among the highest amounts of a European bank for debt so far this year despite being one of the largest banks by assets on the continent.

"A key priority for us now is lowering our funding costs and improving our credit ratings," chief financial officer James von Moltke told investors and analysts recently, as reported by the Financial Times. 

The bank's market capitalization is now about €16 billion, a little bigger than what would be deemed mid-sized lender in the US.

Most recently the lender was caught up in a badly timed bond bet which cost Deutsche Bank around $1.6 billion. The bank offloaded its position, which it created prior to the financial crisis in the municipal bond market, in 2016 at a great cost, further damaging the bank's reputation to investors.  

This was most clearly seen in the news that China's HNA, the bank's largest shareholder, would again cut its stake in the lender — by around a fifth to around 6.7%.

HNA had built up a 9.9% stake in Deutsche by early 2017 but has since retreated from the lender, although this is part of a broader strategy by the company to pull back from its vast, largely debt funded commitments. 

At the time of its recent funding just over a week ago Deutsche Bank's Credit Default Swap (CDS) — a derivative that provides a form of insurance against a company defaulting on its debt — price rose to 20bp higher than that of Italian lender UniCredit.

The latter is carrying billions of euros in commitments to the much maligned Italian state and is still seen as less risky than Deutsche currently.

As of February 21, UniCredit's CDS spread stood at 60bp while Deutsche Bank's has rocketed to 173bp, according to IHS Markit.

SEE ALSO: Deutsche Bank lost $1.6 billion on a trade gone bad involving Warren Buffett

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• "Anthem" is a multiplayer third-person shooting game developed by BioWare, the creators of "Mass Effect."
• Players pilot a mechanized suit of armor resembling something out of Marvel's "Iron Man."
• "Anthem" is designed to be an ongoing service with daily updates to keep players engaged after the main story ends. 
• The game is officially out on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One today; the game is also available with through the Origin Access Premiere and EA Access monthly subscription programs.

When I consider the standards of a blockbuster, AAA video game, "Anthem" checks all the boxes.

It has the impressive budget and production value you expect from Electronic Arts, a major publisher. It's a brand-new franchise with ongoing support from BioWare, the celebrated creators of the "Mass Effect" series. "Anthem's" most important hook, the mechanized "javelins" that let players fly and explore the game's massive open world, are awesome in design and amazing to see in motion.

And yet, I'm not sure if all of that makes "Anthem" a fun game. While I've mostly enjoyed the 10 hours I've spent with Anthem so far, I couldn't fight the feeling that parts of the new third-person shooter felt more like work than play.

"Anthem" successfully executes BioWare's vision of an open-world third-person shooter, but the game's exciting concept feels bogged down by stale mechanics and poor optimization. With any luck, it will be improved over time as BioWare updates the game.

The game celebrated its official launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on Friday, but I've been playing the full version of "Anthem" with players who pre-ordered on PC since February 15th. Here's what it's like. 

SEE ALSO: 'It's been a long road to get here': BioWare's Mike Gamble on the launch of 'Anthem,' and what the team learned from that rocky demo

NOW READ: EA has a 'Fortnite' on its hands with its new game, 'Apex Legends.' So what does that mean for 'Anthem'?

As a multiplayer-focused shooter, "Anthem" is a big departure from BioWare's earlier games.

I was drawn to "Anthem" by two things: a chance to essentially play "Iron Man" in a mechanized suit, and a new franchise from the creators of "Mass Effect." But BioWare's "Mass Effect" was a series of third-person shooting games focused on single-player gameplay and storytelling; "Anthem" is a multiplayer game focused on cooperative exploration, online play, and player progression.

While Bioware's storytelling helps fill the margins of "Anthem" and flesh out the world, it largely feels unimportant to how and why you're playing the game.

Javelins, the awesome mechanized suits players pilot during the game, are the best reason to play "Anthem."

While the game's story doesn't offer much inspiration, the high-flying javelin suits provide plenty of excitement. Players can choose from four different types of Javelins, each of which has its own strengths and weaknesses.

The Storm and Ranger javelins have better flight control, while the Interceptor has better ground mobility and close-range attacks. The Colossus has defensive maneuvers and the strongest armor.

Players can customize their javelin's weapons and appearances to suit their taste.

Players choose which javelin they want at the start of the game and can unlock the other three as they progress through the game. Each javelin can be customized to the player's tastes, including different color schemes, armor sets, and weapon loadouts.

Javelins share some weapons, but special abilities vary between the different types of suits. Your choice of javelin largely determines your playstyle, and the other weapons should match your javelins strengths.

New customizable items are unlocked using in-game currency or real-life cash, but don't have an impact on gameplay.

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 healthcare industry is undergoing a profound transformation. Costs are skyrocketing, consumer demand for more accessible care is growing rapidly, and healthcare companies are unable to keep up. 

Health organizations are increasingly turning to tech companies to facilitate this transformation in care delivery and lower health expenditures. The potential for tech-led digital health initiatives to help healthcare providers and insurers deliver safer, more efficient, and cost-effective care is significant. For healthcare organizations of all types, the collection, analyses, and application of patient data can minimize avoidable service use, improve health outcomes, and promote patient independence, which can assuage swelling costs.

For their part, the "Big Four" tech companies — Google-parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft — see an opportunity to tap into the lucrative health market. These same players are accelerating their efforts to reshape healthcare by developing and collaborating on new tools for consumers, medical professionals, and insurers.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence explores the key strengths and offerings the Big Four will bring to the healthcare industry, as well as their approaches into the market. We'll then explore how these services and solutions are creating opportunities for health systems and insurers. Finally, the report will outline the barriers that are inhibiting the adoption and usage of the Big Four tech companies’ offerings and how these barriers can be circumvented.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• Tech companies’ expertise in data management and analysis, along with their significant compute power, can help support healthcare payers, health systems, and consumers by providing a broader overview of how health is accessed and delivered.

• Each of the Big Four tech companies — vying for a piece of the lucrative healthcare market — is leaning on their specific field of expertise to develop tools and solutions for consumers, providers, and payers.
• Alphabet is focused on leveraging its dominance in data storage and analytics to become the leader in population health.
• Amazon is leaning on its experience as a distribution platform for medical supplies, and developing its AI-assistant Alexa as an in-home health concierge.
• Apple is actively turning its consumer products into patient health hubs.
• Microsoft is focusing on cloud storage and analytics to tap into precision medicine.

• Health organizations can further tap into the opportunity presented by tech’s entry into healthcare by collaborating with tech giants to realize cost savings and bolster their top lines. But understanding how each tech giant is approaching healthcare is crucial.

 In full, the report:

• Pinpoints the key themes and industry-wide shifts that are driving the transformation of healthcare in the US.
• Defines the main healthcare businesses and strategies of the Big Four tech companies.
• Highlights the biggest potential impacts of each of the Big Four’s healthcare strategies for health systems and insurers.
• Discusses the potential barriers that will challenge the adoption of the Big Four tech companies’ initiatives and how these hurdles can be overcome.

Subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to:

	This report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports
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• The Federal Reserve has firmly signaled that it will not raise interest rates until risks to the economy subside. 
• Some Wall Street strategists are convinced that this stance marks the end of the Fed's hiking cycle and is a prelude to the next recession.  
• Their views — and what this means for stocks — are outlined below.

If you had to pick just one catalyst that explains the stock market's rally this year, the Federal Reserve would be a solid choice.

The central bank took steps to reassure markets that it will not raise borrowing costs as aggressively as many feared, considering the evidence of softness in parts of the economy. Minutes for its January meeting released this week showed it even shouldered some responsibility for the sell-off late last year.

A more patient Fed can help fill potholes in the economy and keep financial conditions loose enough to keep fueling stock-market gains.

However, some strategists are reading the Fed's patience differently: as a signpost effectively marking the end of this rate-hiking cycle. They believe the burgeoning evidence of a US economic slowdown, coupled with the risks introduced by the trade war, is digging a hole that investors won't be able to climb out of. 

"The end of the Fed tightening cycle is more often than not, a prelude to recession," said Albert Edwards, a strategist at Societe Generale who is well-known for his bearish views on the global economy. 

Read more: 2 notorious recession signals are descending into the danger zone, and they have some Wall Street strategists convinced that a meltdown is fast approaching

If the Fed is indeed done, history suggests that the next recession might still be years away. According to data from LPL Financial, the average span from the final hike to recession over the past 40 years has been nearly three years.

However, the concern for strategists like Edwards is that the timeline will be shorter this time around.

They see a familiar pattern playing out: The Fed raises rates rapidly, pauses when there are signs of strain, and then quickly cuts rates to contain an unfolding economic meltdown. This happened most recently in the 2000 and 2008 recessions, and it's why the Fed has been blamed in some way for every crisis in the postwar era.

Edwards has long warned that the next recession could be so dire that the Fed will have to cut rates into negative territory— something it has never done before. 

Read more: The next recession could force the Fed to cut interest rates into negative territory. Here's what that means, and how it could affect you.

He says investors should not dismiss the economy's warning signs and how the Fed is responding.

"Where investors could easily be caught out is in dismissing recent weak US economic data as due to one-off factors such as the very cold weather or the government shutdown," Edwards said in a note to clients. "Investors need to be doubly cautious at this late stage of the cycle."

One person who's already cautious is David Rosenberg, the chief economist at Gluskin Sheff. For example, after retail sales plunged by the most since 2009 in December, Rosenberg did not dismiss it as a one-off. 

Of Rosenberg, Edwards wrote: "He calculates that large declines in retail sales of this magnitude are associated with recessions 80% of the time. Free money may have numbed our senses, but at this very late stage of the economic cycle, think very hard before stepping off the sidewalk."

In a note exclusively published by Business Insider, Rosenberg further said he believed the next move in interest rates will be down, not up. 

The legendary economist Gary Shilling is also on recession watch, and has warned that Fed tightening could trigger the next one. He cites the fact that inflation has languished below the central bank's 2% target despite the plunge in the unemployment rate to 3.9%; both metrics historically have a negative relationship. 

"The likelihood of a recession starting this year, which I rate at two-thirds probability, is also deflationary," Shilling told Business Insider by email."That would end and reverse the Fed credit tightening campaign that started in December 2015."

If Fed tightening is truly over, stock-market bulls may still be able to buy time. The S&P 500 gained by an average of 9% and 12% in the six- and 12-month periods after the final rate hike, according to LPL Financial. 

But the cautionary tale here is that investors may struggle to come to terms with the next about-face from the Fed.

SEE ALSO: CREDIT SUISSE: Whether the market surges or tanks, tech stocks are perfectly positioned to profit. Here are the best companies to own.

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NOW WATCH: There are serious health reasons why you shouldn't eat your boogers

• Someone anonymously published a cache of what appears to be confidential emails between Facebook executives, discussing a lawsuit with Six4Three, a developer that's suing Facebook in the US.
• The unverified documents, seen by Business Insider and also reported in The Guardian, appear to detail a near-miss situation in which a third-party app almost led to Facebook's accidental exposure of its financial earnings ahead of schedule.
• CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared to be copied into some of those messages.
• Some of them are recreated below.
• Facebook told Business Insider that it is reviewing the documents and their authenticity.

A trove of what appears to be confidential emails between Facebook executives has reportedly leaked online, and it apparently shows the company’s top brass discussing a narrowly-avoided disaster in which a lawsuit with a third-party app developer almost led to Facebook disclosing financial earnings ahead of schedule.

About 60 pages of un-redacted documents from an ongoing lawsuit between Facebook and Six4Three, a developer that is suing Facebook in the US, were published anonymously on GitHub on Friday, The Guardian reported. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg can be seen copied into some of the messages on the thread.

Business Insider has also seen the documents, but have not been able to independently confirm the authenticity of the emails.

A representative for Facebook told Business Insider on Saturday: "We are reviewing the documents and their authenticity."

'Holy crap'

In one part of the leaked documents, then-Facebook Vice President Michael Vernal appeared to discuss a "near-fatal" issue with a third-party app, and asked colleagues to "make sure what it's doing is clear and not deceptive."

Then-Facebook director of productive management Avichal Garg responded: "Wow that would have been a disaster."

Vernal then said, according to the documents: "If Mark had accidentally disclosed earnings ahead of time because a platform app violated his privacy … literally, that would have basically been fatal for Login / Open Graph / etc," referring to Facebook developer apps.

"Holy crap," Garg is seen to have said.

Vernal then warned everyone on the thread: "DO NOT REPEAT THIS STORY OFF OF THIS THREAD," adding: "I'm super, super serious here."

Zuckerberg appears not to have been part of that message chain.

In a statement to The Guardian, a Facebook spokesman said the documents "by design tell one side of a story and omit important context." The spokesman also characterized the documents as "selective leaks" and declined to discuss them, because all documents regarding Facebook's lawsuit with Six4Three are under seal by court order in California.

Six4Three is suing Facebook after its business — specifically, an app named Pikinis that surfaced images of people's Facebook friends in their swimwear — was destroyed when the social network tightened up its privacy policies in 2015.

Late last year the British parliament published a cache of secret Facebook documents from Six4Three under parliamentary privilege in the UK.

Read more:The secret Facebook documents have just been published by British Parliament

The papers show Facebook "whitelisting" firms in return for access to data and taking "aggressive positions" against rivals, such as Twitter's defunct video app Vine.

SEE ALSO: The Facebook papers are a timely reminder that Mark Zuckerberg is totally ruthless about making money

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NOW WATCH: I quit texting for a week and it was harder than I expected

This is a preview of the Global Payments Landscape report from Business Insider Intelligence. Current subscribers can read the report  here.

• Noncash payments are on the rise worldwide.
• As new players emerge to capitalize on consumer appetite for digital payment methods, three mature markets — the UK, Australia, and Sweden — have become standouts for what a more cashless society could look like.
• The UK, Australia, and Sweden are transitioning to digital particularly well, and can serve as a roadmap for other mature markets seeking to overcome the legacy channel of cash.

Noncash payments have been gaining popularity around the world for the last decade. And though cash isn’t anywhere near dead, its global growth is slowing as consumers turn to emerging cashless alternatives.

But there are a few key markets - Australia, Sweden, and the UK - where annual noncash payments have already surpassed traditional cash transactions altogether — and they’re stong early indicators of what a truly cashless society could look like.

Why are digital payments on the rise?

The growing adoption of noncash payments is a direct result of the rise of e-commerce, but that’s not the only factor. Consumers today are adaptable to disruptive technologies and are generally open to trying new types of digital payment methods.

This consumer appetite is compounded by their access to infrastructure, as well as the emergence of government-backed initiatives, such as real-time transfers and the backing of electronic currencies, that make digital payments more enticing to both consumers and merchants.

How are Australia, Sweden, and the UK driving the world towards cashless payments?

Australia, Sweden, and the UK are emblematic of opportunities for payments players to lead the world away from cash. The Global Payments Landscape from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, provides a snapshot of the payments industry in each of these three markets.

The report shows that several leading payments players have already emerged or are dominant within each of these regions — and they’re finding success in different ways. For other mature markets seeking to overcome the legacy channel of cash, the digital transformations of Australia, Sweden, and the UK can serve as a roadmap.

Here are the strategies these regions are implementing in the race to become the world’s first cashless society:

• Australia is launching government initiatives and instating new regulations. The Australian government has banned purchases over AU$10,000 ($7,500) from being made in cash, as well as launched the New Payments Platform (NPP) to allow real-time funds transfer as a means of replacing transactions typically made in cash, such as paying back a friend.
• In Sweden, consumers are rapidly abandoning cash in favor of cards. In fact, only 2% of the total value of transactions in Sweden consist of cash — a figure that’s expected to decline to less than half a percent by 2020.
• Contactless payments are leading the shift away from cash in the UK. Nearly the entire population has a debit card, and debit card transactions surpassed cash payments for the first time at the end of 2017. This milestone was largely fueled by the surge in contactless cards, which grew 97% annually last year to hit 5.6 billion transactions.

Want to Learn More?

The Global Payments Landscape from Business Insider Intelligence compiles various payments snapshots, together illustrating how digital payment methods are supplementing or replacing cash in each market.

Each snapshot provides an overview of the payments industry in a particular country, and details the evolution of its development. They also highlight notable payments players in each region and discuss the opportunities and challenges that players are facing in their respective markets.

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A six-month human-trafficking and prostitution sting in massage parlors across Florida yielded hundreds of arrest warrants, including several from the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter where at least two business executives were charged of soliciting a prostitute.

Ten spas have closed since the operation that stretched from Palm Beach to Orlando, according to the Associated Press. Cameras inside and outside the businesses were reportedly planted in the operation, with videotapes revealing some of the defendants committing sexual acts.

First-time offenders charged with solicitation are typically permitted to enroll in a diversion program and serve 100 hours of community service, a former prosecutor told the Associated Press.

Here are the executives who have been charged in Florida's prostitution sting:

Robert Kraft, New England Patriots owner

Seventy-seven-year-old Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots with an estimated worth of $6 billion, was reportedly charged with soliciting a prostitute. He was filmed twice in the act at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida.

Kraft denied the charges.

Kraft began dating 39-year-old actress Ricki Lander, one year after his wife, Myra Kraft, died of cancer in 2011. Myra and Kraft were married for 48 years.

"We are as equally stunned as everyone else," Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr said to the Associated Press.

John Havens, former president and chief operating officer of Citigroup

Sixty-two year old John Havens, Citigroup's former president and chief operating officer, was also on a list of men who were charged for solicitation of a prostitute. 

Haven was Citigroup's president in 2011, only to resign a year later, according to Bloomberg.

John Childs, founder of private equity firm J.W. Childs Associates

Seventy-seven year old John Childs, the founder of private equity firm J.W. Childs Associates, was charged by the Vero Beach Police Department for solicitation of a prostitute, according to Bloomberg.

Childs denied any wrongdoing.

"I have received no contact by the police department about this charge," Childs said to Bloomberg. "The accusation of solicitation of prostitution is totally false. I have retained a lawyer."

Since 1995, Childs' firm have invested around $3.7 billion towards over 50 businesses, according to its website. Childs was responsible for a $77 billion fixed income portfolio with Prudential Insurance Company of America in 1980s, his profile said.