Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="19935006" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Guyana" source="keywords">Guyana</keyword>, the tiny South American nation, plans to give $500 to every citizen aged 18 and over.</li><li>Its president said the <keyword id="21044249" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cash-payments" source="keywords">cash payments</keyword> aim to narrow disparities and help with higher living costs.</li></ul>The world's fastest-growing economy is giving the equivalent of $500 to each of its adult citizens as it works to share its newfound oil wealth and soften the sting of higher living costs. President <keyword id="21170274" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mohamed-Irfaan-Ali" source="keywords">Mohamed Irfaan Ali</keyword> of Guyana, the South American country with just 800,000 people, announced the move last week and said his government would begin distributing the cash immediately. He previously said each household would receive the Guyanese-dollar equivalent of $1,000, but switched to an individual payment after locals raised concerns about how a household would be defined and how the money would be shared within each home. "This is how we are promoting prosperity, ownership, distribution of wealth," Ali said. "This is how the resources and revenue of this country are being spent every single day to lift the lives of people, to expand national wealth, coastal wealth, and community wealth." Guyanese authorities have taken other steps to combat the rising cost of living, the post noted. They've removed more than 200 taxes and fees, including the excise tax on fuel and VAT on water, electricity, and some basic foods. They also gave a one-time, tax-free grant worth about $120 a person to a group that included teachers and public servants last year. Nicolas Suarez, a senior economist at S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence who covers Latin America, told Business Insider the original plan would "increase the average household's disposable income, alleviating some budget constraints." He estimated the initial program's scale at 1.5% of national GDP and 7.9% of Guyana's Natural Resource Fund, which officials set up in 2019 to prudently manage the country's oil revenues. The scale of the updated plan is less clear. World Health Organization data suggests there are about 711,000 Guyanese aged 15 and over, so if we assume the 18+ population is 660,000 people and all of them receive $500 each, the program could cost $330 million —not far off the government's estimate of $290 million for the original household payout. "In the short term, this measure could boost private consumption growth, but it may not ease <keyword id="19895000" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="inflation" source="keywords">inflation</keyword>ary pressures," Suarez said about the previous plan. "On the contrary, higher government expenditures could lead to significant inflationary pressures over the next 12 months." He noted that inflation in Guyana has climbed from a pre-pandemic average of 2.3% a year to 3.3% in August. He noted that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/investing/what-is-inflation">inflation</a> in Guyana has climbed from a pre-pandemic average of 2.3% a year to 3.3% in August. <h2>Riding an oil wave</h2>Guyana, an English-speaking former colony that gained independence from Britain in 1966, borders Venezuela to the west, Brazil to the south, and Suriname to the east. Its natural resource fund is similar to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/norway-sovereign-wealth-fund-to-dump-russian-assets-ukraine-invasion-2022-2">Norway's oil fund</a>, set up in the 1990s to invest profits from the Scandinavian nation's oil-and-gas sector, protect the economy from fluctuations in energy revenues, and serve as a financial reserve and long-term savings plan for Norwegians. Norway's gas-powered sovereign wealth fund has helped to make it one of the world's wealthiest countries with an estimated population of 5.5 million and a GDP per capita of about $88,000 last year, according to World Bank data. Its oil fund held over $1.7 trillion of assets at the end of June, or more than $300,000 per Norwegian citizen. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-chevron-hess-guyana-oil-economy-berkshire-hathaway-stock-2023-10">Exxon</a>, which has discovered an estimated <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-market-outlook-opec-price-cuts-us-crude-production-guyana-2023-12">11 billion barrels of oil equivalent</a> off Guyana's coastsince 2015, forecasts the country will produce about 1.3 million barrels a day once the company's six projects are online in 2027. That amount rivals Qatar's current output and would rank Guyana among the world's 20 largest oil producers. Guyana ramped up production to more than 600,000 barrels a day earlier this year, fueling roughly 50% <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oil-market-guyana-economy-crude-production-outlook-opec-price-cuts-2023-12">GDP growth</a> in the first half and putting Guyana on track to grow about 43% this year, Ali said in an August webcast. Real GDP soared by about 62% in 2022 then 33% in 2023, while GDP per capita has surged from $7,000 in 2020 to around $26,000 this year, International Monetary Fund data shows. <h2>Sharing the wealth</h2>Guyana's payment to its people "sounds like great news," Karl Widerquist, a philosophy professor at Georgetown University-Qatar and the author of several books about universal basic income (UBI) told BI. He described the one-time distribution as "basic capital" or a "stakeholder grant" instead of a basic income, but said "it's a big step in that direction if they go through with it." UBI typically refers to a recurring cash payment made to every individual in a society regardless of their wealth, with no restrictions on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-people-spend-universal-basic-income-ubi-food-housing-transportation-2024-4">how the money is spent</a> and no requirement to pay it back. Proponents hail it as a safety net against poverty that relieves financial strain and frees people to change jobs, start businesses, and weather periods of bad luck without stressing about paying their bills. Guyana's one-off, unconditional cash grant is a "positive step," Cleo Goodman, the basic income lead at the Autonomy Institute think tank, told BI. "This is a welcome injection of cash for citizens." However, she noted a guaranteed, regular income would be a "much more comprehensive commitment to redistributing this newfound wealth." Guyana was colonized by the Netherlands before Britain gained control in the late 18th century. The nation, which shares borders with Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname, became independent in 1966. Correction: October 18, 2024 — An earlier version of this story mistakenly reported an outdated version of the policy. Guyana announced Wednesday it had decided to give the equivalent of $500 to every adult, rather than a higher amount to each household as previously planned. The story also misstated the value of the previously announced figure in US dollars. It was $1,000 a household, not $2,000.

This tiny country says it will give $500 to every adult as an Exxon oil boom supercharges its economy

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Netflix makes money. A lot of money.</li><li>This is not news now. But a few years ago, when the company was burning billions a year, it wasn't a foregone conclusion.</li></ul>Netflix made a lot of money in the last three months.Yawn. What else is new? <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-stock-historic-high-chart-streaming-2024-9">Netflix is the clear winner of the streaming wars</a>, and every quarter, it gets another chance to demonstrate that. Like it did on Thursday when it added another <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-new-subscriber-numbers-beat-expectations-2024-10">5 million subscribers</a>.But read that first sentence again. It isn't just that Netflix is far ahead of its rivals when it comes to subscribers and revenue. Netflix is actually bringing in so much money that it is turning a profit, while its competitors struggle to break even.A lot of profit: $2.3 billion in net income, off of $9.8 billion in revenue. By the end of the year, the company thinks it will have generated $8.7 billion in profit.Don't expect anyone to hold a parade to honor Netflix's achievement. Wall Street expects this kind of performance from Netflix, which is why its stock is near an all-time high.But it's still worth noting because not very long ago, lots of very reasonable people thought Netflix might never get here.That's because Netflix used to be in the business of burning cash — billions of dollars worth a year — as it built a lead in the streaming wars by licensing other people's TV shows and movies, and making its own. And Netflix financed all that cash incineration by taking on many billions of dollars in debt.By the end of 2020, the company had more than $15 billion in long-term debt, and a concern you heard all the time from Netflix bears was: "It's great that they're spending all this money on content, but when are they going to pay for it?"The Netflix answer went something like: "Trust us: All the money we spend on content — especially content we own, forever — is money well-spent because it means we can attract more customers, who will give us more money. And eventually, we'll have so many customers, and so much money, that we won't have to borrow any more to keep this going."And then they pulled it off: In January 2021, Netflix said it no longer had to tap the debt market to pay for its operations (though it has since borrowed more money to pay off some of its older debt). And things have been booming since.The best way to see the turnaround is by looking at Netflix's free cash flow — the money it has on hand after it pays for its day-to-day operations. In 2019, Netflix had negative cash flow of $3.3 billion. <a target="_blank" href="https://s22.q4cdn.com/959853165/files/doc_financials/2023/q4/NEW-FINAL-Q4-23-Shareholder-Letter.pdf">By the end of 2023</a>, it had swung to positive $6.9 billion.That doesn't mean Netflix is going to go hog-wild on spending now that its thesis has been borne out. The company has made it clear to Wall Street that after years of increasing programming budgets, it is going to keep things flat for a while.Meanwhile, it knows investors want more money and more profit, which is why it is pursuing multiple things it used to say it would never do: like sell ads, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-password-sharing-crackdown-worked-how-to-increase-subscription-streaming-2024-1">make it hard for people "share" passwords</a>.Its competitors are trying similar gambits — but with much smaller user bases, and more constrained programming budgets, which makes it that much harder for them to compete.Which is not news if you've been following the company (again, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-stock-historic-high-chart-streaming-2024-9">see this stock chart</a>). Still, good to keep in mind.

Netflix is rolling in cash. What a turnaround!

Cash, the ultimate safety asset in the world of investing, is suddenly the hottest trade on Wall Street.Even with the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-stock-returns-prediction-different-projections-inflation-bullish-2024-10">S&amp;P 500 up by 22% this year</a>, Americans have poured more than $230 billion into <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/banking/what-is-a-money-market-account">money markets</a>: funds holding cash and short-term debt. Typically, cash is reserved for investors who want <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/investing/what-is-diversification">protection in times of turbulence</a> — the proverbial stashing of money under the mattress. But 2024 has been the second-biggest year for saving money since the 1970s, behind only 2023.What's notable about this flight to cash is that it's not the baby boomers hoarding dollars for retirement; it's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-gen-z-stock-market-baby-boomers-wealth-investing-2024-2">millennials adding to their reserves</a>.In a June survey by Bank of America's wealth-management arm on how wealthy Americans were approaching their finances, the bank's analysts found that over the past two years, 55% of investors between 21 and 43 had increased their cash holdings, compared with 46% of investors 44 and older. That wasn't just young people who got worried about the economy or the risks of a sudden sell-off: The survey also suggested that younger respondents had rosy views of the economy and their finances.I saw the same puzzling trend in investor surveys during my time at eToro, a well-known retail brokerage firm. At the end of 2023, 63% of investors 44 and younger told us they had increased their cash allocations in the past six months (versus just 27% of investors 45 or older). This, despite the fact that younger investors were more optimistic about the economy, their incomes, their living situations, and their investments.There's something driving younger Americans to save their cash, and I don't think it's solely the 5% savings rates.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-millennials-financial-futures-jobs-economy-money-pandemic-recession-2023-4">Millennial investors have been deeply scarred</a> by two life-changing crises in their young lives. For many millennials, the global financial crisis hit just as they were entering their working years. About a decade later, a once-in-a-generation pandemic — and two painful bear markets — delivered another blow to their psyches.And now, in the prime of their investing years, the echo of those events has made them risk-averse in their investments. Millennials may be protecting themselves well with their ability to save. But when wealth is built on compounding returns over long periods, their distrust of the stock market could set them back in the long run.Young investors have become synonymous with rampant speculation: They <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/what-are-zero-day-expiration-options-stock-market-risks-0dte-2023-9">trade zero-day options</a>, hop on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/investing-outlook-millennials-meme-stocks-active-investment-robo-advisors-morningstar">the meme-stock rocket</a>, or <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/gen-z-investing-social-media-finance-fintok-millennial-investors-2021-7">take extreme risks</a> in the name of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wifi-money-instagram-finance-influencers-angry-investors-lawsuits-2024-5">social-media clout</a>. Sure, some investors adopted this devil-may-care attitude, and I'll never judge somebody for doing what they want with their own money. But if you look at hard numbers from the Federal Reserve about what millennial investors actually own, you can see that this stereotype is misguided.Despite their coming of age in one of the longest stock-market rallies in history, millennials had 19% of their total financial assets in cash as of June 30, the most of any generation. In a way, this makes sense — the younger you are, the less time you have to put your money toward other investments. When you compare millennials' cash levels with Gen X's cash levels at the same age, though, the risk aversion becomes clear. If you were born right in the middle of the millennial generation, you're now 36. These "median millennials" held more cash as a share of their total assets during their 20s than Gen Xers did at those ages — a difference of about 13 percentage points.What's worse, though, is that millennials avoided stocks during some of the best years for investors. As our median millennial grew from 21 to 30, the S&amp;P 500 grew by an average of 11.5% annually, while savings accounts paid next to nothing because of the Fed's zero-interest-rate policy. Millennial savers didn't just give up a precious decade of compounding — they missed one of the longest bull markets in history.While the gap has started to close now that most millennials are in their 30s, the survey data suggests the millennial cash obsession hasn't quite let up.There are plenty of reasons for the recent uptick in cash allocation. Savings and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/banking/average-money-market-interest-rate">money-market rates</a> leaped as high as 5%, giving investors attractive risk-free returns; <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/america-new-economic-supercycle-growth-inflation-stock-market-global-chaos-2024-10">geopolitical upheaval means the world</a> feels extremely shaky; and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-fears-fueling-stock-market-crash-wall-street-chaos-positive-2024-8">Wall Street pros have been warning</a> about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-recession-stock-market-crash-calls-wrong-economy-housing-2023-6">a recession for over a year now</a>. But when it comes to younger investors, I think the scars run deeper than worries about a coming downturn.Millennials have had a tumultuous induction into adulthood. Many of them were in high school or college or in their early working years during the global financial crisis. From 2009 to 2014, the unemployment rate was 10% or higher for 20- to 24-year-old Americans. They learned to prioritize cash as they navigated one of the worst downturns in history. Then, just as they were finding their footing, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. We were locked inside our houses for weeks on end while stocks entered one of their swiftest crashes on record. Soon after, we nervously waded back into the wealth-building waters, only to get hit by scorching inflation and another bear market.Every generation has its war stories. Gen Xers had to process 9/11 and the tech bubble bursting in their late 20s. Baby boomers dealt with their own bout of inflation and high rates as 20-year-olds in the 1980s. Their parents were unfortunate enough to experience the Great Depression, a three-year stretch of the darkest economic days in the United States. But there's something especially pernicious about having to navigate not one but two earth-shattering crises early in adulthood.Money can be a highly personal subject. Our feelings of financial stability develop through experiences, not classes or textbooks. A 2017 University of Michigan study found that children as young as 5 could start developing spending and saving habits. There's also a ton of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/young-people-are-developing-money-dysmorphia-2024-7">research that suggests financial stress</a> can lead to a litany of physical, mental, and emotional issues. Early financial trauma can profoundly shape your relationship with money. That's why personal finance can feel so illogical at times — why some of us may be set on paper but constantly fear losing it all.I know this well. I'm a young millennial who felt the financial crisis as a teenager. My mom was a part-time bookkeeper at a housing construction company, and my dad was a residential electrician. You could probably guess what happened when the housing market went into a tailspin. I may not have been old enough to open a brokerage account, but I picked up some perverse money habits from the financial crisis that I'm trying to unlearn — even now, as the head of research at a firm that teaches people how to build wealth. Multiply this mentality across a generation, and you have one swath who brought us crypto, Occupy Wall Street, meme stocks, and YOLO capitalism, and another batch that can't seem to take enough risks to build a decent retirement fund. These more cautious ones piled their savings into inflation-linked I-bonds — super-safe government-issued debt that locks away your money for a year — when they hit 9% in 2022. A great decision for an emergency fund, but less savvy when the stock market is plumbing new lows.Saving too much money seems like a good problem to have, but keeping all your money in a savings account can be a huge financial mistake when you consider the opportunity cost. Imagine you put $1,000 in a savings account in July 2023 — at the peak of the Fed's rate hikes — earning a sweet 5% APY on your cash. By October 4, you would've earned about $60 on that money.How does that compare to stock-market returns? Not great.By staying in cash over the past year and change, you missed a 27% rally in the S&amp;P 500. In other words, that $1,000 would've turned into about $1,277 if you'd invested it in a no-fee index fund. There were strong gains to be had in other major indexes, too: a 28% climb in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 and an 18% rise in the mega-company Dow. Yes, even your grandma's index beat your cash return.Of course, stocks and cash are different financial beasts. Cash can be dependable in tough times, and it's often the best place to stash away funds for a big purchase. It also makes sense to have some cash on hand. Stocks, by contrast, are often far from stable. Lots of popular stocks have dropped 10% to 20% of their value in a single day, and you could theoretically lose all your invested money in the stock market. But as scary as that sounds, it's the essence of risk-taking; you give up stability for potentially greater returns over time. If you have decades ahead of you as an investor, you're in a prime spot to take some risks. Every little bit matters, too. Over long periods, the difference between 5% and 6% returns on a $1,000 investment can be thousands of dollars. For what it's worth, the S&amp;P 500 — an index of America's largest companies — has grown by about 8% a year over the past two decades.The long-term math favors shifting away from cash, and the short-term calculus is changing, too. Because the Fed started cutting interest rates in September, you're slowly losing that sweet, sweet savings rate — average money-market rates have slid to 2.75% from 2.9% at the end of July.Fellow millennials: As a market nerd who studies how the wealthiest Americans get rich, I'm begging you to stop playing it safe. Cash may feel like a warm, fuzzy blanket, but you're not getting anything done just lying there on the couch bingeing Netflix. Holding cash as an emergency fund or a house down payment makes sense. Staking your retirement on cash doesn't.Risk is the foundation of wealth-building, so get off the couch.Callie Cox is the chief market strategist at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/">Ritholtz Wealth Management</a> and the author of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimisticallie.com/">OptimistiCallie</a>, a newsletter of Wall Street-quality research for everyday investors. You can view Ritholtz's disclosures <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/blog-disclosures">here</a>.

Millennials are hoarding cash. That could hurt them in the long run.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Critics of guaranteed basic income often suggest that cash payments discourage work.</li><li>Experts say basic income can help participants afford job training and land higher-paying roles.</li></ul>Taniquewa Brewster is training to be a doula. The mom of five knows both how joyful and overwhelming a baby can be, and she wants to improve birth outcomes for pregnant Texans.While earning her <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-am-a-doula-this-is-what-i-do-2022-1">doula</a> certificate, Brewster is working full-time as an assistant property manager at an income-based housing unit. The 39-year-old said she earned the position after being promoted from her role as a leasing agent, a change she said was only possible because of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-pros-and-cons">guaranteed basic income.</a>She had previously been patching together <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-make-money-gig-worker-uber-lyft-doordash-delivery-driver-2023-12">low-paying part-time work</a> to get by."I was working as hard as I could, working overtime," Brewster said. "That's keeping me away from my family. That's keeping me away from things that I can be doing — even going back to school — because I have to work so hard to just cover rent."From September 2022 to August 2023, she received $1,000 monthly through <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/austin-basic-income-gbi-ubi-housing-homeless-parenting-rent-texas-2024-2">Austin's UpTogether pilot</a>. The cash payments gave her breathing room: she said the money helped her afford household bills, along with the real estate and doula training she needed to land higher paying jobs.Guaranteed basic income programs are gaining momentum across the US as an approach to poverty reduction. The model offers participants recurring <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-ubi">cash payments</a> for a set period of time, with no strings attached. Like in Austin's pilot, many programs are directed at households that live near the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/poverty-line-leaves-behind-low-income-americans-snap-medicare-wic-2024-6#:~:text=The%20current%20federal%20poverty%20line,up%2C%20it%20is%20too%20low.">federal poverty line</a>.Despite GBI's growing popularity with some policymakers and economic security experts, it continues to face opposition. Business Insider has covered basic income bans, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/basic-income-program-lawsuit-houston-texas-ubi-gbi-ken-paxton-2024-9">lawsuits over GBI funding</a>, and criticism that giving people cash <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-ubi-dave-ramsey-show-karl-marx-playbook-2024-7">discourages participants from working</a> — one of the most common critiques.Some experts, however, have a different view: Financial support frequently offers participants a leg-up in their careers. This is in line with results from most of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/which-states-cities-have-guaranteed-basic-income-programs-low-income-2024-4">America's GBI pilots.</a>Since the Austin program ended and Brewster started her new role, she estimates her monthly income has increased by over $3,000. She said her <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/immigrants-new-mexico-basic-income-for-housing-healthcare-ubi-gbi2024-5">job stability</a> helped her afford essentials like groceries and healthcare, and allowed her to spend more time with her children."I know it's great to have that talent and to know how to do things," she said. "But when you have that certification behind it, it just helps you to move up in the company or in whatever you do."<h2 id="0c19f308-5bbe-47f6-a561-6c5d8e61a435">Basic income critics say cash discourages work</h2><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-ubi-ray-dalio-cash-payments-harm-poverty-2024-7">Billionaires</a>, politicians, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-ubi-dave-ramsey-show-karl-marx-playbook-2024-7">financial leaders</a> have criticized basic income programs, saying that cash payments could encourage laziness among participants. Others add that having an extra monthly income could <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-17/south-dakota-texas-block-local-universal-basic-income-laws">dissuade people from having a job</a>."Do we just get born and get money from the government?" Arizona State Rep. John Gillette previously told BI. "I think the Founding Fathers would say that is very contrary to our capitalist system and encouraging people to work."Sometimes results do show that participants work fewer hours or drop multiple jobs during their GBI program. For example, in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-basic-income-study-results-2024-7">Illinois and Texas' OpenResearch study</a> — which examined the effects of two GBI programs that were funded by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI — employment rates fell in the second and third years among the participants compared with the control group. The pilot gave 3,000 low-income families $1,000 a month for three years, beginning in 2019.When conducting guaranteed basic income pilots, researchers typically gather data on participant spending, housing outcomes, food access, mental health, job security, and weekly working hours. This data is gathered throughout a program's run and after its conclusion via participant surveys and is often compared to a control group of people not receiving cash payments.Sukhi Samra — the executive director of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, a national advocacy network — told BI that measuring employment trends can be challenging because it doesn't capture the individualized benefits of GBI.It may look like participants are working fewer hours or fewer jobs, but often, Samra said those roles are more stable and higher-paying. Although job numbers declined in the OpenResearch case, the average participant income increased, researchers found. The study speculated the income boost could be due to participants having more flexibility over their employment choices."Sometimes being able to work less does have profound impacts for families," Samra said. "Especially when you're talking about parents being able to spend more time with their children, being able to obtain a professional license or degree, or take care of an elderly parent."More than a dozen guaranteed income pilots overseen by Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, like in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stockton-basic-income-experiment-success-employment-wellbeing-2021-3#:~:text=In%20Stockton%2C%20California%2C%20125%20residents,launch%20more%20basic%2Dincome%20pilots.">Stockton</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baltimore-basic-income-parents-afford-housing-get-jobs-ubi-gbi-2024-7#:~:text=Baltimore%20gave%20low%2Dincome%20parents,some%20lawmakers%20are%20fighting%20them.">Baltimore</a>, showed an overall increase in employment among participants. Other pilots, like one in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/denver-basic-income-project-ubi-extended-homelessness-poverty-2024-1">Denver</a>, showed no statistically significant impact on employment rates. Few programs show negative job outcomes.BI has heard anecdotally from participants that cash payments helped them <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/post/preview?svapi&amp;post_id=66ab7d4d6550c8ac4ef862cd">pay for the childcare</a> they needed to be focused at work, leading to promotions. Others said $500 or $1,000 a month was the boost they needed to drop several lower-paying gigs in favor of one <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alabama-basic-income-single-mothers-afford-childcare-bills-birmingham-2024-8">higher-paying full-time job</a>, or reduce their working hours so they could pursue higher education or job training. Some leave their jobs to start <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-basic-income-study-results-starting-a-business-2024-7#:~:text=OpenResearch's%20study%20gave%20monthly%20stipends,essentials%20and%20considered%20starting%20businesses.">their own small businesses</a>."The benefits of that sort of compound over time, and aren't really captured in the nuances of the data," Samra said.Still, guaranteed basic income programs reflect short-term results. There is limited research on participant job outcomes in the months and years after their payments end. Participant employment — or unemployment — might also be impacted by outside factors, like the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-picks-up-in-fall-low-openings-hurting-job-seekers-2024-9">changing labor market</a>, a person's family situation, or shifts to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-cost-of-living-what-is-middle-class-housing-market-2024-4">local cost of living</a>. Most GBI participants need to continue working to make ends meet.<h2 id="7292fcde-172d-457c-9073-cb15b2dc5747">Participants say basic income helped them afford job training, land higher-paying roles</h2>Cepia Harper, 41, just began her second year as a middle school English teacher. Her favorite lesson to teach is essay writing, helping students learn how to craft the perfect thesis statement.Harper began teaching shortly after enrolling in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/georgia-basic-income-afford-rent-daycare-single-mom-ubi-gbi-2024-6">Georgia-based guaranteed basic income program</a>, In Her Hands. The program offered 650 participants — who were all low-income Black women — $20,400 over two years, ending in spring 2024.Along with helping cover <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-orleans-guaranteed-basic-income-supports-opportunity-youth-school-work-2024-9">household bills and unexpected expenses</a>, Harper said the money allowed her to get her education credentials. She had previously been cobbling together a couple of retail jobs to make ends meet."I've never had it where I could just go home to my own kids, pick them up from practice," she said. "They all play sports, and I could never leave work to go to a game."More predictable hours means Harper can spend more time with her family. Her annual income has risen by about $13,000 since she began teaching, she said, so she no longer has to work multiple jobs.And, as participants use their cash payments to build careers, Asya Howlette said they are more likely to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-orleans-guaranteed-basic-income-supports-opportunity-youth-school-work-2024-9">boost local economies</a>. As the director of the New Orleans Mayor's Office of Youth and Families, Howlette has noticed the trend in her own city, where she helped oversee a recent GBI program focused on teenagers and young adults disconnected from work and school."It's improving our economy because all of the money that these young people were using is going right back into our economy," she previously told BI. "It's not like they're sitting on a lot of cash, they're spending it right back in our grocery stores, they're putting it right back in our small businesses."While GBI isn't meant to serve as a paycheck replacement, Samra said can be a financial safety net: "We are allowing folks to stabilize and to then plan for the future," she added.Being able to afford training for more lucrative jobs in real estate and maternal care gave Brewster — the mother of five — financial confidence."It really motivated me," she said of her GBI program. "Because I knew that, once the money stopped, what would I do afterward?"Have you participated in a guaranteed basic income program? Are you open to sharing your experience? If so, reach out to this reporter at <a target="_blank" class="" href="mailto:allisonkelly@businessinsider.com">allisonkelly@businessinsider.com</a>.

The basic income myth: cash discourages work

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gen Zs have found a more authentic resource when researching colleges: college content creators.</li><li>College content creators give study advice and post snippets of day-to-day school life on TikTok.</li></ul>In the summer before his senior year of high school, videos of students waking up in dorm rooms or wandering down the college quad started to flood Ryan Fuhrman's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-is-bad-boring-fyp-2024-2">TikTok For You feed</a>.The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-tiktok-algorithm-for-you-page-works-watch-time-report-2021-7">algorithm</a> clearly knew that he should be researching college— and he took it as a cue to get started."Dorm room in NYU," he typed into the TikTok search bar. In a matter of seconds, he could <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tour-nyu-freshman-dorm-room-building-2023-9">tour the dorms</a> of New York University, checking out the bedding and wall art of each student who had chosen to share.In a similar manner, he went on to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-food-best-dining-halls-2017-8">judge the food quality</a> at the University of California, Los Angeles's dining halls, and get a feel for what a day in the life of a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-college-freshmen-successful-first-year-professor-2024-9">college freshman</a> might look like at the University of Southern California.Unlike scrolling a school's website or browsing a brochure, TikTok allowed him to see colleges through other students' eyes."It made me believe, 'Wow, that actually could be my day,'" Fuhrman, 18, told Business Insider.Fuhrman is not alone. According to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nearly-half-genz-use-tiktok-instagram-over-google-search-2022-7">Google's internal data</a>, nearly 40% of Gen Z prefers searching on TikTok and Instagram over Google Search and Maps, BI reported in July 2022.When it comes to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-choose-college-campus-tour-data-2023-12">deciding on a school</a>, these TikToks illuminate parts of college life that previous generations had little access to and often didn't discover until their freshman year — after the decision of where to go had been made.Instead of the typical campus tour hosted by one of the college's brand ambassadors and led along a curated map of the school's most attractive amenities, Gen Zers have multiple feeds through which they can examine a campus' vibe. And unlike the 15-minute promo videos produced by schools, much of what's featured on social media is coming from people they can relate to.<div type="image" title="Helaine Zhao standing outside of Harvard" height="1363" width="1817" msid="114753464" hostid="261" sizebytes="200338"></div><h2 id="c9b73a20-6e08-4a15-944b-3ebc651c868a">The rise of college content creators</h2>As of October 29, there were 2.3 million TikTok videos under the hashtag "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/College-life">college life</a>." The hashtag has gone viral, with 30.5 billion views.The popularity of college content on TikTok has introduced a slew of content creators covering their school life.From her very first day, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@helainezhao?lang=en">Helaine Zhao</a>, a Harvard freshman, started posting vlogs about life on campus.In a video posted in September, she shared her morning routine at college. The video shows her getting out of bed, putting in her contact lenses, picking out clothes, applying make-up, exercising at a gym, and getting breakfast. The video gained over 6 million views.Zhao, who started posting content in March, has gained over 92,300 followers on TikTok. And while she's eligible for TikTok's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-creator-rewards-program-challenges-google-search-youtube-2024-3">Creator Rewards Program</a>, which allows creators to monetize their content, she has not yet joined. Still, she occasionally signs paid collaborations with study brands like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/learning/notability-note-taking-app-ipad-apple-review">Notability</a>, a note-taking app. Zhao preferred not to share how much she earns from the sponsorships.She recalls using the app to research colleges when she was deciding between Stanford, Harvard, and Yale."It was definitely a very helpful tool to get to experience these campuses without actually going to them in person," she said, although she eventually did visit the schools in person during their admitted student days.One college content creator she followed at the time was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@elisempham?lang=en">Elise Pham</a>. Now in her junior year at Harvard, Pham has more than 155,800 followers.<div type="image" title="A girl poses at Harvard" height="1000" width="1500" msid="114753468" hostid="261" sizebytes="54994"></div>"As the child of a single immigrant father and a mother who passed away when I was 9 years old, I didn't necessarily have a lot of resources and mentorship regarding the college application process," Pham, 20, told BI.She saw the value of providing resources for students who need college advice. So, when she started college, she began posting college admissions videos on TikTok about Harvard to help prospective students.She then founded the Ultimate Ivy League Guide, a college admissions consulting business that provides students with online guides and courses on college admissions. She's running the business while finishing her last two years of undergrad, and plans to continue working there full-time after graduating.Pham told BI that while she doesn't take personal income from the business, it earns a low six-figure amount a month. "The money is used to build a program that can make education more accessible for students from all socioeconomic and geographical backgrounds," she said. Pham provided BI with documentation of her business earnings.Similarly, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lillianzhang_?lang=en">Lillian Zhang</a>, a University of California Berkeley graduate, started posting content about her college life and internships during her junior year. It was during the thick of Covid, and she decided to cure her boredom by providing useful content for students.As it happened, some of her UC Berkeley vlogs went viral. In one vlog, which gained over 200,000 views, she wakes up early to go to the gym, has a mid-term review at school, then grabs a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stanford-student-internship-matcha-tea-farm-japan-what-she-learned-2024-10">matcha</a> latte and quesadilla for lunch."I think people just want to see what life at the school was through my experience," said Zhang, 24, who has more than 113,100 followers on TikTok.<div type="image" title="Lillian Zhang, a UC Berkeley alumni, speaking to students" height="3012" width="4016" msid="114753467" hostid="261" sizebytes="177026"></div>She added that prospective students had reached out to her to ask questions about school and internships."When I was still at Berkeley, there were people who recognized me from the videos. That was a really cool experience hearing how the information that I've shared has helped," she said.These days, Zhang works as a product marketing manager at a Big Tech company and posts mostly <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-worst-career-advice-on-tiktok-2024-8">career and financial advice.</a>In her first year of receiving income as a content creator, Zhang made around $47,000, mostly from sponsorships. This year, her revenue from content creation amounted to a low six-figure number. Zhang provided BI with documentation of her social media income.<h2 id="9db52995-a72c-4c11-8da5-4ec1c508d2f5">An authentic first-person perspective</h2>TikTok can be a useful tool for students to gain extra <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/more-american-students-avoid-debt-studying-abroad-college-europe-2024-10">insight into colleges</a> they are interested in.Lucie Vágnerová, the cofounder of the higher education consulting firm BKT Education in Brooklyn, advises her students to use social media during their <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/only-1-in-4-americans-think-going-college-worth-it-2024-5">college research</a>."You might see a snippet from the cafeteria, people kicking a soccer ball around the quad, or even whether it's stressful to study in the library," she told BI. "Just real-life stuff that a college website won't necessarily tell you."Students can get a "vibe check" to see if they can relate to other students and appreciate the school culture, she added.At the same time, college content can also change how prospective students view a college for the worst, Greg Kaplan, a college advisor, said."We have seen students change their school lists based on what they observe about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-10-party-universities-in-america-ranked-2024-9">fraternities and sororities</a> and not apply to those schools if they don't think they will fit in," said Kaplan, whose company, Kaplan Educational Group, provides college application guidance to around 350 high school students yearly.<h2 id="47905484-234c-45bb-be67-7bb333c7f6e0">TikTok is useful — but it has limitations</h2>Vágnerová said prospective students should use TikTok with a discerning eye."As much as I love to see what's happening with social media creators coming out of campuses, I always tell students, 'This is one piece of the puzzle; don't linger anywhere too long,'" she said."Look for other social media creators. Look for location tags on Instagram stories. Get a comprehensive picture of a campus or an academic culture rather than just looking at it through the prism of one person," she added.And while TikTok can influence students' perceptions of a school, other factors that students consider before making their decision typically include cost, rankings, and location.<div type="image" title="A college student posing with his UCSD hoodie." height="1092" width="1456" msid="114753466" hostid="261" sizebytes="142156"></div>Of the 17 schools he applied to, Fuhrman said the schools he was accepted to included NYU, USC, and California State University. When it came down to his decision, he decided on the University of California, San Diego, because of its reputation, rankings, and cost. Fuhrman, who grew up in San Jose, also toured several schools in person.Still, he says it was TikTok videos that gave him confidence in his decision.On the app, he has a collection of saved videos titled "UCSD." One video shows the beaches of La Jolla: "That kind of made me fall in love with the school," he said. Another video he saved shows the modern interior of Franklin Antonio Hall — an engineering facility with an auditorium, 100-seat classrooms, and collaborative study space for students. The building opened on campus in 2022. "I would never have known because every single promotional content for the school just shows a picture of the library," he said."But the school is so much more than that."In between studying for a degree in structural engineering, Fuhrman, who has around <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ryan.furball">3,400 followers</a>, has also joined in on documenting his college life on TikTok."I think that inspiring others like me who didn't really have the school on their radar is my goal, ultimately," he said.

Gen Z turns to TikTok to find the perfect school. Some college students are cashing in.

Stock market trading is something that needs expert guidance and has its own set of risks associated. This is why, people generally consult experts before investing in stocks. However, one needs to be careful who they are seeking advice from when it comes to financial matters. In a recent case, a 63-year-old man from Hyderabad lost Rs 50 lakh after falling for a fraudulent stock trading scheme shared through a <keyword id="790242" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="whatsapp" source="Orion">WhatsApp</keyword> group. This is just one example of how fraudsters are increasingly using messaging platforms to lure in victims with false promises of easy profits. <h2>How the scam unfolded </h2> The scam began when the victim received an invitation to join a WhatsApp group called Stock Discussion Group. According to a Times Now report, the group was led by a man named <keyword id="23828130" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kunal-singh" source="keywords">Kunal Singh</keyword>, who introduced himself as a financial advisor with extensive experience in the stock market. Singh claimed that his past clients had earned significant profits, boasting of returns as high as 500% by following his stock trading advice. Intrigued by these promises, the victim enrolled in online classes that were promoted within the group. These sessions, held through private links shared on WhatsApp, promised to teach participants how to make money by investing in the stock market. Singh continued to assure group members that his expertise would guide them to financial success. The victim, trusting his guidance, began to invest small amounts of money on a platform called Skyrim Capital, which Singh claimed was a legitimate trading platform. At first, the victim saw some returns on his investment, which only encouraged him to invest more. The initial success built his confidence, and over time, he transferred a total of Rs 50 lakh into multiple investments, believing that he was making wise financial decisions. However, when the victim attempted to withdraw his funds, he was unable to do so. The platform blocked his attempts, and when he tried to contact Singh, he received no response. The truth behind the scam The victim soon realised that he had been scammed. The platform, Skyrim Capital, turned out to be nothing more than a front for fraudulent activity, and Singh had disappeared with the man’s money. The scam had been carefully designed to build trust initially, only to betray the victim when he tried to cash out. The fraudsters used the lure of high returns and expert advice to convince the victim to keep investing larger sums, ultimately draining his finances. This scam is just one of many that have been reported in India, with cybercriminals exploiting the convenience and popularity of platforms like WhatsApp to reach potential victims. These scams often rely on false promises and fake personas, with fraudsters creating elaborate stories to convince their targets that they are legitimate financial advisors.

63-year-old Hyderabad man loses ₹50 lakh after joining WhatsApp group for stock market investment advice

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Investors face diminishing returns from cash alternatives as interest rates decline.</li><li>Money market funds offered low-risk yields, but missed gains in the S&amp;P 500.</li></ul>Just a year ago, if the stock market got bumpy or felt risky, investors could shave a bit off their positions and park in cash-like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/banking/what-is-a-money-market-account">money market funds</a> yielding slightly over 5%.Today, cash alternatives are yielding slightly less. Still, they remain near or above 4.5%, which is a tempting return in exchange for no risk. But as we head deeper into an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fed-cut-rates-inflation-powell-blackrock-ceo-larry-fink-2024-10#:~:text=The%20Federal%20Reserve%20will%20disappoint,a%20rise%20in%20global%20inflation.">interest-rate-cutting cycle</a>, the benefits of sitting on the sidelines will diminish, and investors will need to rethink their strategy.While the perk of a low-risk asset with a decent yield seems like a sweet deal, it actually did some investors a disservice, says Mark Malek, the CIO at Siebert. Specifically, those who didn't have liquidity needs but chose to sit in cash anyway missed out on a strong year for the S&amp;P 500."I'm going to say something controversial, which is that we weren't having as many of these conversations when money markets were almost zero," Malek said. "Clients had no other alternatives, so they were putting their money to work in the equity markets or in the best bonds they could find. Many people should have probably invested in equities and would've probably gotten great returns."The main advantage money markets give investors is quick access to their cash, followed by lower risk and then a decent yield. The former is harder to match. But the latter two can be found in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/investing/treasury-bonds">Treasuries, notes, and bonds</a>, Malek said. By sticking to shorter-term Treasuries, investors can still meet their liquidity needs."That's where the whole conversation changes because now you're saying, 'OK, we can get you into a three-month bill, but then you would want to hold that,'" Malek said, adding that he would never advise a client who needs liquidity to go further out and buy a two-year note. And anyway, the yield curve is inverted, meaning there's no term premium, with the best yields coming from the one-month out to the six-month Treasury.It's about gauging liquidity needs and then sticking to bills or looking for older notes that are months away from maturity, Malek said. The main challenge with going shorter term is the rollover risk, which happens when you're faced with less favorable yields once the current Treasury matures. For investors who don't have immediate cash needs, Malek advises a six-month bill at a 4.5% yield since he expects rates to be 75 basis points lower by then. If liquidity needs arise, investors may be able to sell for a profit if the Fed's cutting cycle is steeper than expected, he added.Investors with a bit more of a risk appetite who want to maintain a yield just over 5% should consider investment-grade corporate bonds, which are AAA to BB-rated, Malek said.<h2 id="ac89e755-a442-47d7-b00d-34e1f8eb6a94">Dollar alternatives</h2>While interest-rate cuts are part of the move away from cash, there are other factors that make the dollar, in general, a crummy place to be right now, says David Miller, the CIO at Catalyst Funds.Inflation remains present even if it's not as high as it was. The Federal deficit continues to balloon. And, the weaponization of the dollar against countries like Russia has made it less attractive globally, Miller noted.Based on these additional concerns, Miller says the closest alternative would then be <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/gold-price-record-high-became-etf-interest-rates-trump-costco-2024-10">gold</a>, and big money is vying for it. Central bank demand for gold reached its highest in a decade in 2022 and 2023. Although it slowed in 2024, it was still up by 6% from a year ago in the second quarter, according to the World Gold Council.Investors may feel queasy about the asset as it hits peak prices near $2,800 per ounce. But you have to consider the value of the dollar against that backdrop, Miller noted. Simply put, the M2 money supply, which includes cash and cash alternatives, has skyrocketed since 2020 by over 36%, debasing the dollar.For investors looking for that gold alternative, Millers says they can <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-in-gold-price-record-highs-safe-haven-2024-10">buy coins, bars, and even gold ETFs</a>.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/investing/buy-bitcoin">Bitcoin</a> is another alternative that more risk-prone investors look to. As of Tuesday, it surpassed $71,000, hitting near its all-time highs as hedging demand grows. While it has similar liquidity to cash, it's much more speculative, Miller noted.

Cash is no longer king. Here are 3 alternatives investors are trading it for, according to chief money managers.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Amazon's cash balance is expected to reach almost $400 billion by 2027, far outpacing tech rivals.</li><li>This cash gusher stems from record profits, cost-cutting, and success in cloud and advertising.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-could-cut-managers-save-3-billion-analysts-2024-10">Amazon</a>'s ballooning cash balance is drawing Wall Street's attention.The company is on pace to have $127.4 billion in cash and short-term investments by the end of this year, tripling the amount from 2018 and surpassing $100 billion for the first time, according to consensus estimates compiled by S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence.That would give Amazon more money than rivals <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-cfo-analysts-ai-subscription-growth-2024-9">Alphabet</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-spreadsheet-shows-pay-engineers-2024-8">Microsoft</a>, each expected to have about $112.8 billion and $108.1 billion in cash by that time, respectively. The data showed that even Apple, which puts some of its cash in long-term securities, would fall behind Amazon by next year.By 2027, Amazon is forecast to have almost $400 billion in cash, far outpacing its Big Tech rivals.This is an astounding transformation for a company that is famous for running on thin margins, reinvesting most of its profits, and holding relatively little cash compared to peers. Wall Street is closely following this and questioning whether Amazon plans to return some of its cash in the form of buybacks or dividends. When cash balances surged at other Big Tech companies in the past, the pressure mounted and they started returning some of the money to shareholders.Mark Mahaney, a tech analyst at Evercore, said he has asked Amazon about shareholder returns for years, but it doesn't appear to be a "near-term priority" at this point.Still, he was struck by the sheer size of the company's growing cash hoard."It's hard to see why Amazon would need THAT MUCH cash on its balance sheet," Mahaney wrote in an email to BI. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment.<h2 id="bd05e4c2-f723-404d-af01-e33b0ba9876c">Pressure to return</h2>Amazon's cash increase is largely being driven by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-andy-jassy-wall-street-analyst-praises-turnaround-effort-2024-7">record profits</a> from cloud computing, advertising, and improved efficiency, including cutting costs.The company's free cash flow is expected to nearly double from $36.8 billion last year to $70.8 billion in 2025, according to estimates compiled by S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence.Hopes for an Amazon dividend or at least more share buybacks gained traction in recent quarters after other tech companies, including Alphabet, Meta, and Salesforce, started returning more of their cash to shareholders earlier this year. Apple and Microsoft have paid dividends for years.Evercore's Mahaney said the chances of an Amazon dividend are "pretty low" for the next 2 to 3 years. He thinks a sustained share buyback program is more likely to happen first. Amazon approved a $10 billion stock repurchase plan in 2022, but hasn't added to this since.Mark Shmulik, an analyst at Bernstein, told BI that Amazon's expected free cash flow for the next few years is "significant," and investors are "certainly asking" for some type of return.Morgan Stanley, in a note published this week, also said Amazon's growing cash balance "creates a higher probability of capital returns" next year.Gene Munster at Deepwater Asset Management told BI that demands for shareholder returns will likely increase next year when he expects investors will become more confident about Amazon's ability to maintain its pile of cash. Despite the "remarkable" growth in Amazon's cash balance, the company hasn't been as aggressive as other tech companies in rewarding shareholders, he noted."A year from now, I think there'll be a lot of pressure for Amazon to do more," Munster said.<h2 id="0607f36d-1e3f-4cbc-8c90-93d4f205247c">AI is the wild card</h2>Investors have reasons to be happy about Amazon's performance. Its stock is up roughly 40% in the past year, outpacing the broader market. CEO Andy Jassy's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-andy-jassy-wooed-wall-street-overhauled-bloated-tech-giant-2024-7">turnaround efforts</a> have resulted in record profits and renewed investor confidence.During an April call with analysts, Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky addressed the question about shareholder returns. He said the company had nothing to say at that point, adding the priorities are growth opportunities and long-term investments, as well as debt repayment. Jassy wrote in his annual shareholder letter that Amazon will continue to invest in artificial intelligence, its nascent Kuiper satellite network, and Prime Video content.Any large acquisition may be off the table for now, given the tough regulatory environment. The Federal Trade Commission, for example, terminated Amazon's proposed acquisition of iRobot earlier this year.Artificial intelligence could be a wild card. Amazon is in an arms race for AI supremacy against Microsoft, Alphabet, OpenAI, and Meta, putting more pressure on the company to invest in the space. In August, Olsavsky said capital expenditures will increase in the second half of this year -- up from an eye-watering $30.5 billion in the first half of 2024.Deepwater's Munster said depending on how the AI battle plays out, investors could give Amazon more room to invest, rather than rewarding shareholders. AWS's growth rate has bounced back in recent quarters, and competition with Microsoft is only intensifying, he added."If AWS continues to accelerate growth, investors will say, 'Let's keep funding this,'" Munster said.Do you work at Amazon? Got a tip?Contact the reporter, Eugene Kim, via the encrypted-messaging apps Signal or Telegram (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="c-link">+1-650-942-3061</a>) or email (<a target="_blank" href="mailto:ekim@businessinsider.com">ekim@businessinsider.com</a>). Reach out using a nonwork device. Check out Business Insider's <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/insider-guide-to-securely-sharing-whistleblower-information-about-powerful-institutions-2021-10">source guide</a> for other tips on sharing information securely.

Amazon is becoming Big Tech's king of cash, and Wall Street wants a piece of it 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Donald Trump courted bitcoin lovers by branding himself the "crypto president."</li><li>The industry hopes his second term will bring regulatory changes and give bitcoin a role in the economy.</li></ul>Donald Trump flipped from <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/btc-usd?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">bitcoin</a> cynic to <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/trump-bitcoin-cryptocurrency-election-outlook-crypto-funding-regulation-biden-novogratz-2024-7?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">"crypto president"</a> and it paid off big.Trump <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/trump-bitcoin-commentary-seems-like-scam-against-the-us-dollar-2021-6-1030500598?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">disparaged digital assets</a> as recently as just a few years ago, describing bitcoin as a scam, and yet his latest electoral win was fueled in no small part by crypto-friendly pledges that unlocked millions in campaign funding.With Trump headed back to the White House, it's now the industry's turn to see if its bets on a second term paid off. Here's what they're want to see. <h2 id="1009b70b-3c95-4408-9e2d-ef2b16069f01">Regulatory overhaul</h2>One of the root themes of Trump's crypto platform is a promise to sweep aside regulatory restrictions that have hung over the industry in recent years.Criticism has been loud over the Biden administration's handling of the sector, characterized by heated confrontations between the Securities and Exchange Commission and major crypto players."Those guys, I mean, they just put so much uncertainty in this entire industry. It was unbelievable. There was no clear guidance, no regulations," said Tim Kravchunovsky, CEO of Chirp, a decentralized telecommunications company.Speaking with Business Insider, he added that regulatory conflict has pushed crypto business out of the US, costing Washington its competitive edge. Matt Mena, crypto research strategist at 21Shares, agreed with that sentiment. "By creating a more welcoming regulatory environment, this approach could draw back projects and founders who have left the country due to regulatory uncertainty, generating thousands of new jobs and millions in tax revenue, bolstering the economy while advancing the crypto sector," he told BI over email.To this end, the industry anticipates that Trump will replace regulatory heads with more crypto-friendly people. The president-elect is already surrounded by such figures, Mena said, such as Elon Musk, JD Vance, Robert F. Kennedy, and Howard Lutnick.Meanwhile, to make Trump's plan of turning the US into a "crypto hub" possible,Kravchunovsky suggested that Washington could provide incentives such as federal grants and tax cuts.<h2 id="b1a4e172-d8a3-4ea3-b022-1a29b3897ab5">Crypto bills</h2>On the legislative front, crypto players will also be watching for the repeal of SAB 121 and the passage of several key bills,SAB 121, an SEC policy document <a target="_blank" href="https://content.next.westlaw.com/practical-law/document/Idfd9dfac273211ef8921fbef1a541940/President-Biden-Vetoes-Legislation-Rescinding-SEC-Staff-Accounting-Bulletin-121-SAB-121-on-Crypto-Custody?viewType=FullText&amp;transitionType=Default&amp;contextData=(sc.Default)">kept in place by the Biden administration</a>, discourages US lenders from acting as crypto custiodians, given that it requires them to hold an equivalent amount of cash against their crypto holdings. It's removal would free institutional investors to further adopt digital assets.Mena also cited anticipation around FIT21, an act aiming to clarify the regulatory roles around digital assets. Consumer protections would also strengthen under this bill, he said.Meanwhile, Trump's administration could accelerate progress on three meaningful pieces of stablecoin legislation, which aim to set up guardrails around future stablecoin issuance. These dollar-pegged crypto assets are increasingly used for purposes similar to traditional finance, Standard Chartered said in a note on Friday.<h2 id="eae31105-86db-4e91-9d15-cfc75e92738f">A bitcoin reserve?</h2>Since Trump's victory, speculation has jumped that a strategic bitcoin reserve could be in on the way. Though the President-elect has not specifically voiced such a plan, the idea that his administration would buy bitcoin as a reserve asset has created enthusiasm among crypto bulls."We're already seeing that that [crypto's] gaining trust, and it's gaining trust within institutions and countries. More and more countries are adopting it. So I don't think it's a matter of years. I think it's a matter of months," Kravchunovsky said.Mena sees the price of bitcoin soaring to $1 million "almost overnight," if a strategic reserve were to be established. The scenario would prompt other nations to build up their own reserves, pushing bitcoin's total market cap 13 times higher. Meanwhile, Standard Chartered head of FX research Geoff Kendrick considers a bitcoin reserve fund as a high-impact development with a low probability of happening for now. Investors should instead pay attention to Trump's separate promise to cease all sales of government bitcoin. If this happens, that could mean a sizeable upswing in the price of the token, he wrote.<h2 id="6a25764b-b3fc-4a7c-a689-ece320390cd4">Crypto's time to shine</h2>In whatever way the industry changes under Trump, one thing feels certain: the election has cemented the crypto markets place in the mainstream."Crypto is now essentially legal in the U.S., marking a major turning point for the industry," Mena wrote.According to Kendrick, crypto-friendly adjustments have the potential to drive the total market value of the cryptocurrency market to $10 trillion by the end of 2026, a major jump from the current $2.5 trillion level.He reiterated his expectation that bitcoin will hit $200,000 by the next year's end.

What the crypto market actually wants from a Trump presidency

<ul class="summary-list"><li>My bank has lowered the APY on my high-yield savings account by almost half a percent recently.</li><li>I'm not happy that my cash is generating less returns now, and I don't know what to do.</li></ul>It's never pleasant to receive an email from your bank informing you that the interest rate on your <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/banking/best-high-yield-savings-accounts-rates-right-now">high-yield savings account</a> is decreasing.Unfortunately, like many Americans happy to collect a robust yield on their savings, I've gotten three of these notifications in the last three months as the Federal Reserve has begun to lower interest rates. From August until the end of October, the annual percentage yield (APY) on my high-yield savings account has fallen from 4.6% to 4.2%.I opened this bank account almost two years ago, right after graduating from college. Back in 2023, with inflation still elevated, interest rates were at their highest levels since the Great Financial Crisis, and it seemed like most banks were offering near-5% yields on savings. After paying off my bills every month, I would put the remainder of my paycheck into my high-yield savings account and watch the number creep up.Now, it looks like the days of a 5% APY are in the past. In September, the Federal Reserve dished out a 50 basis-point rate cut, signifying the beginning of the end for high rates. Continuing this trend, the central bank's chair, Jerome Powell, announced a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/federal-reserve-cuts-interest-rates-quarter-point-powell-inflation-election-2024-11">25 basis-point cut</a> last week, and is expected to slash rates further in the months ahead.Is there anything I can do about the state of my savings account, or do I have to watch my yield erode away slowly? Curious, I asked three financial experts for their advice on this topic.As a famous politician once said, we didn't just fall out of a coconut tree. Context is important. Patti Black, a financial advisor at Savant Wealth Management, reminded me that the recent high interest rate environment is a marked departure from the last decade, where interest rates were near zero and there was no yield on cash to be found. So, while yields dropping from nearly 5% might seem like a tough pill to swallow for someone like me who just opened an account in the last couple of years, it's still a pretty good deal when you consider where rates have been in the past.I didn't have a bank account during the post-2008 zero-interest rate policy era, so this was helpful context to have. Perhaps my generation is indeed coddled — first by our parents and now by Jerome Powell's post-pandemic rate hikes.Black also suggested that I switch up my perspective. While a rate-cutting cycle means less return on my cash, it also means lower borrowing costs for a car loan or a mortgage, which is good news for the housing market.But there are other options for where I can have my money sit, Black said. Of course, one alternative is a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cd-rates-certificate-deposit-high-interest-where-to-invest-now-2024-10">certificate of deposit</a> (CD), which is essentially a savings account that holds money at a fixed interest rate for a fixed period of time. CDs generally pay higher interest rates than savings and money market accounts in exchange for locking up your money for anywhere between three months to many years. However, my hands are a little tied. A well-known rule of thumb is to keep three to six months of living expenses available in your bank account as an emergency fund (read: liquid and highly accessible), so it's not a good idea to lock up money in my high-yield savings account for a prolonged period time. I could withdraw my money from the CD if needed, but I'd have to pay back some or all of the interest I'd generated up until that point as a penalty.With this in mind, Black said that sometimes it doesn't matter what the rate on the high-yield savings account is — it's the best place to park cash for easy access.Armed with this context, I still wanted to see if there were more ways to put my cash to work for me.Daniel Milan, financial advisor at Cornerstone Financial Services, had some more thoughts on CDs. A three-month CD could be a good option if I were comfortable locking up my money for that period of time, according to Milan.My bank didn't offer CDs, so I would need to open up a new bank account, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Some financial experts recommend having <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/banking/how-many-savings-accounts-can-you-have">multiple bank accounts</a> for different savings goals. Searching online, I saw <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/banking/best-3-month-cd-rates">multiple options</a> yielding over 4.6%.However, Milan didn't recommend locking up my money for longer. Usually, the longer the term of the CD, the higher the rate. But that's not always the case in today's market."In this current environment, it makes no sense to go further out than three months on a CD because the three-month CD is paying you more than a one-year or two-year right now," Milan said.Looking at CD offerings from a variety of banks, I discovered that this was indeed true — generally, the longer the CD duration, the lower the rate, especially after a 1-year duration. Rates on 6-month and 9-month CDs were also attractive depending on the bank, but again, my liquidity needs take those off the table.Many of the banks I looked at didn't offer short-term CDs, either. For example, one option offered a 4.5% APY on an 11-month CD, 3.7% on a 2-year, and 3.5% on a 5-year.It wouldn't make sense to move my money out of my savings account without high enough compensation for the lower liquidity."You're not getting paid for that illiquidity," Milan told me.Short-term <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/bonds">Treasury bills</a> are another investment option for higher yield, and they offer more liquidity than CDs, according to Richard McHorter, a private wealth advisor at SRM Private Wealth. A three-month Treasury bill currently yields 4.43%.There's also the added benefit of tax savings, which is especially appealing for McHorter, who lives in California: "If you're a resident of a high-income tax state, I would be looking at Treasury bills."As a resident of New York City, the idea of lower taxes certainly appeals to me. If I were to buy Treasury bills, I would only need to pay federal taxes, bypassing state and local income taxes.McHorter also said that there's a lot of uncertainty about interest rates right now, and they could actually start going back up again. Trump's proposed <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tariffs-hit-company-stock-profits-hardest-china-investing-manufacturing-2024-11">tariff policies</a> could increase inflation, in which case the Fed would probably increase rates to combat an overheating economy, he said.If I buy a three-month Treasury bill, I can reassess the inflation situation when I get my money back in three months and reinvest it accordingly, McHorter said.When it comes to interest rates and inflation, pay attention to the data and don't try to predict the market with your money, Milan advised. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/federal-reserve-cuts-interest-rates-quarter-point-powell-inflation-election-2024-11">Jerome Powell</a> himself has said that it's too soon to say how the election results could reshape markets and interest rates."My advice to anybody would be: just be diligent in reading and interpreting the data as it comes out," Milan said. Watch inflation data and Fed commentary, and base your investing decisions on the information you have at hand.It feels like the market is a bit in limbo as everyone waits for the effects of the election to ripple through, but as Black mentioned, not taking any action right now isn't the worst decision.What's next? For starters, I'm going to sit down and crunch some numbers for what three to six months of living expenses look like for me and keep that in my high-yield savings account. With the money I have left over, I have some good options.Are you a Gen-Zer who has recently been faced with an investing predicament? Feel free to reach out to Christine at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:cji@businessinsider.com">cji@businessinsider.com</a> to share your story.

The interest rate on my high-yield savings account keeps dropping. I asked 3 experts how to earn more on my cash.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Betting markets are booming ahead of the US Presidential election.</li><li>Kalshi has attracted $100M in election bets this month and is the top free finance app in Apple's app store. </li></ul>Betting markets are having a moment in the 2024 presidential election cycle. The popularity of platforms that allow users to wager on politics has exploded, with sites like Polymarket and Kalshi allowing users to place bets on specific election outcomes. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://newsroom.aboutrobinhood.com/introducing-the-presidential-election-market/">Robinhood</a> is the latest platform to get in on the action, with the popular brokerage app announcing the launch of its own election betting contracts on Monday. Earlier this month, a US federal appeals court <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/betting-us-election-cftc-kalshi-legal-battle-prediction-market-2024-10">cleared Kalshi to open its election betting platform</a> for US citizens. Since then, the platform has attracted more than $100 million in bets related to who will win the election on November 5.Kalshi has rocketed in popularity on the Apple App Store, sitting at #7 on Tuesday morning. Among free finance apps, Kalshi is the top download, eclipsing Cash App, PayPal, and Venmo."I think we're gunning for number one for the entire app store by election day, so the demand curve truly is exponential," Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour told CNBC on Monday.Meanwhile, Polymarket, which is not available to US citizens, has seen an explosion in trading volume this year.According to data from The Block, nearly $2 billion has been wagered on Polymarket's website in October, about quadruple the $533 million wagered in September and more than 10 times the $39 million wagered in April.Before 2024, the monthly trading volume on Polymarket was typically less than $20 million.<div type="image" title="Polymarket monthly trading volume" height="391" width="1647" msid="114735533" hostid="261" sizebytes="10760"></div>While Polymarket isn't available to US users, it's attracted a lot of attention and shaped the discussion of these betting platforms in US media in the final stretch of the election cycle. That's because the odds of the election outcome on the platform highly favor Donald Trump, in stark contrast with the polls, which are extremely close one week from the vote.There's also been scrutiny of the betting itself on the platform. Some of Polymarket's trading volume this month has come from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-election-odds-polymarket-whale-kamala-harris-polls-betting-markets-2024-10">a massive "whale" trader</a> that has bet more than $30 million on the outcome of the US election, at times <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/polymarket-whale-trump-vs-harris-betting-odds-polls-election-2024-10">placing as many as 71 bets per minute</a>. The bets have been mainly for Donald Trump to win the presidential election. Interactive Brokers also launched a slew of election betting contracts earlier this month following the court decision to allow Kalshi to operate. Between the rapid legalization of sports betting, the continued popularity of crypto trading, and now the sudden spike of interest around election odds, there's a clear convergence of ways for the average person to make — and in many cases, lose — money through a few clicks on their phone. It's a situation where everyday hobbies are becoming financialized.According to Mansour, the CEO of Kalshi, the boom in betting markets is a good thing because it allows for a new arbiter of truth based on money."Now when you're asking a question of will TikTok get banned? Who are we relying on to get that answer? Now there is a market-based mechanism to look to," Mansour said.Kalshi's mission is to bring "more truth to the world through the power of markets," a job posting on its website said.

The election-betting market has exploded in popularity this presidential cycle

<ul class="summary-list"><li>US stocks fell as investors braced for the US presidential election on Tuesday. </li><li>Kamala Harris has gained momentum recently, hitting popular Trump trades in the market. </li></ul>US stocks traded lower on Monday as investors turned their attention to the presidential election on Tuesday. More than 76 million Americans have voted via mail-in ballots or early in person, suggesting a potential record turnout this year.After <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harris-trump-iowa-polling-lead-swing-states-2024-11">a shock Iowa poll showed Kamala Harris leading in the state</a> against Donald Trump over the weekend, betting odds tightened in the race after Trump spent the weeks leading up to the vote far ahead of Harris. Harris' momentum in the election's final days <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-trump-trade-impact-kamala-harris-rising-election-odds-2024-11">weighed on the Trump trade on Monday,</a> with Treasury yields, the US dollar, and bitcoin all falling.For a full rundown of the implications for the economy and stock market based on who wins the election, read BI's deep dive on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/election-preview-consumer-outlook-how-trump-harris-housing-taxes-2024-11">the potential impacts here.</a>Analysts from Citi on Monday noted that the stock market isn't behaving like it has in past election years. Stocks tend to waver amid the uncertainty, but the rally has largely continued in the months leading to the vote, suggesting that investors are more attuned to macroeconomic data and earnings. "US equities have been very strong coming into this election cycle compared to the past," the analysts said. "The current anomaly has less to do with the market pricing a certain election outcome but more to do with an expectation of continued interest rate cutting combined with a likely shallower US economic slowdown.After the election, investors will shift their attention to the Federal Reserve. The central bank's next policy meeting is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/interest-rate-cuts-federal-reserve-election-jerome-powell-inflation-jobs-2024-11">with an interest rate decision to come at 2 p.m. ET Thursday.</a>According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets see a 96% chance of the Fed cutting rates by 25 basis points.Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Monday:<ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/s&amp;p_500?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest%3Futm_source%3Dmarkets&amp;utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">S&amp;P 500</a>: 5,712.73, down 0.28% </li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/dow_jones?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest%3Futm_source%3Dmarkets&amp;utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">Dow Jones Industrial Average</a>: 41,794.60, down 0.61% (-257.59 points)</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/nasdaq_composite?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest%3Futm_source%3Dmarkets&amp;utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">Nasdaq composite</a>: 18,179.98, 0.33%</li></ul>Here's what else is going on:<ul><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/berkshire-hathaway-apple-stake-cut-quarterly-earnings-2024-11">Berkshire Hathaway trimmed its stake in Apple again. The conglomerate is now sitting of $325 billion in cash.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-sp500-prediction-fed-rate-cuts-fomc-meeting-2024-11">Stocks might "go nowhere" for the rest of the year amid Fed uncertainty and US debt concerns, Ed Yardeni said.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/crypto-political-spending-elections-2026-midterms-coinbase-fairshake-super-pac-2024-11">A crypto PAC has already raised tons of cash for the 2026 midterm elections. </a></li><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/us-oil-opec-crude-production-record-oil-prices-commodity-market-2024-11">The US is pumping more oil than ever, and it's complicating things for crude-exporting countries.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nvidia-replace-intel-dow-jones-industrial-average-2024-11">Nvidia will replace Intel in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Sherwin-Williams will replace Dow.</a></li></ul>In commodities, bonds, and crypto:<ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price">West Texas Intermediate</a> crude oil rose 2.96% to $71.55 a barrel. <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price">Brent crude</a>, the international benchmark, was higher by 2.76% to $75.12 a barrel.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/gold-price">Gold</a> declined 0.08% to $2,746.90 an ounce.</li><li>The 10-year Treasury yield declined 8 basis points to 4.314%.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/btc-usd">Bitcoin</a> decreased 1.64% to $67,617.</li></ul>

You Searched For "cash markets" and got 12 results

This tiny country says it will give $500 to every adult as an Exxon oil boom supercharges its economy

Theron Mohamed

Netflix is rolling in cash. What a turnaround!

Peter Kafka

Millennials are hoarding cash. That could hurt them in the long run.

Callie Cox

The basic income myth: cash discourages work

Allie Kelly

Gen Z turns to TikTok to find the perfect school. Some college students are cashing in.

Erin Liam

63-year-old Hyderabad man loses ₹50 lakh after joining WhatsApp group for stock market investment advice

Divyanshi Sharma

Cash is no longer king. Here are 3 alternatives investors are trading it for, according to chief money managers.

Laila Maidan

Amazon is becoming Big Tech's king of cash, and Wall Street wants a piece of it

Eugene Kim

What the crypto market actually wants from a Trump presidency

Filip De Mott

The interest rate on my high-yield savings account keeps dropping. I asked 3 experts how to earn more on my cash.

Christine Ji

The election-betting market has exploded in popularity this presidential cycle

Matthew Fox

Stock market today: Indexes drop ahead of Tuesday's presidential election

Matthew Fox

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides