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After years of intensified focus on <keyword id="19897423" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="COVID-19" source="keywords">COVID-19</keyword>, <keyword id="19992404" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tuberculosis" source="keywords">tuberculosis</keyword> (TB) has once again emerged as the leading <keyword id="20564668" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="infectious-disease" source="keywords">infectious disease</keyword> killer worldwide. This resurgence is a sobering reminder that despite our pandemic response, TB has continued to claim lives, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where resources are often stretched thin. According to the latest <keyword id="19896311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Health-Organization" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="World Health Organization" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="World Health Organization">World Health Organization</keyword> (<keyword id="19895006" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="WHO" source="keywords">WHO</keyword>) report, approximately 8.2 million people were diagnosed with TB in 2023, marking the highest number of cases recorded since global monitoring began in 1995. <h2><keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword> and Indonesia</h2>The recent spike in TB cases is largely driven by increases in two countries — India and Indonesia. Together, they accounted for 45% of the global rebound in TB diagnoses between 2021 and 2023, underscoring their critical role in the worldwide fight against TB. Three other countries, the Philippines, Nigeria, and Pakistan, also made significant contributions, collectively accounting for another 32% of the increase. This means that more than three-quarters of the global resurgence in TB can be traced to these five countries alone. One key reason for these increases is the “backlog” effect created by COVID-19 disruptions. During the pandemic, healthcare systems in many countries, including India and Indonesia, had to shift focus to COVID-19, which delayed TB diagnosis and treatment. In 2023, as these countries ramped up recovery efforts, many previously undetected TB cases surfaced, creating an apparent spike in reported numbers. This trend highlights the importance of sustainable healthcare infrastructure capable of handling simultaneous health crises. <h2>Gaps in TB case detection</h2>Despite the daunting increase in TB cases, some countries have made notable progress in <keyword id="23741990" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="treatment-coverage" source="keywords">treatment coverage</keyword>. Among the 30 high-burden TB countries, those with the highest levels of treatment coverage in 2023 included Brazil, India, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia, with coverage rates surpassing 80%. India’s <keyword id="21052657" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-tuberculosis-elimination-program" source="keywords">National Tuberculosis Elimination Program</keyword> (NTEP) has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in this, aiming to eradicate TB by 2025 — five years ahead of the global target. By focusing on expanded testing, improved diagnostic tools, and more accessible treatment options, India has achieved high treatment coverage levels despite the challenges. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="114732986" title="Air Quality Alert: Nearly 30% of asthma cases tied to fine particulate matter exposure from bad air" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>However, a significant treatment gap remains. The difference between estimated TB incidence and actual diagnoses still affects millions, especially in countries with large populations like India, Indonesia, Pakistan, China, and Myanmar. These five nations together account for about 50% of the global gap in reported TB cases, with India alone responsible for 16% of the discrepancy. <h2>India’s unique position in the global TB fight</h2>As the nation with the largest share of global TB cases, India has a unique and critical responsibility in addressing the disease. The high TB burden in India is tied to several factors, including undernutrition, poverty, and limited access to healthcare in rural areas. Moreover, with 26% of all TB cases globally, India’s battle against TB will significantly impact the global fight. The government’s financial support for TB-affected households also aims to reduce the economic burden of treatment. However, challenges remain, especially with <keyword id="22004277" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="multidrug-resistant-TB" source="keywords">multidrug-resistant TB</keyword> (MDR/RR-TB). While treatment success rates for MDR/RR-TB have reached 68%, diagnosing and treating all drug-resistant cases is an ongoing challenge. In 2023, India’s coverage of preventive treatment for TB among people living with HIV and close contacts of TB patients also saw improvements, but underfunding continues to limit the full scope of TB elimination efforts. <h2>Global funding gaps</h2>Global funding shortages for <keyword id="21039793" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="TB-prevention" source="keywords">TB prevention</keyword> and treatment are a significant hindrance to progress. Only $5.7 billion of the targeted $22 billion in funding was met in 2023, and for LMICs — where nearly all of the TB burden lies — the available funding falls well short of their needs. The United States remains the largest bilateral donor, and contributions from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria are crucial. However, these funds are not enough to meet essential TB service requirements, leaving healthcare systems under-resourced. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="114646545" title="Doctors struggle to treat long Covid patients in India; researchers point to inadequate studies" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Even in 2022, only one-fifth of the $5 billion target for research funding was achieved, as per the report. This underfunding hampers the development of improved diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines, which are crucial to TB prevention and treatment. Moreover, many of the drivers of TB are related to social factors, such as undernutrition, smoking, alcohol use, and diabetes, making it imperative to address these root causes. For instance, almost half of the TB-affected households globally face what the WHO calls "catastrophic costs" in seeking treatment. This burden is particularly severe in India, where low-income families often forgo treatment due to financial constraints. As WHO’s Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus puts it, "The fact that TB still kills and sickens so many people is an outrage, when we have the tools to prevent it, detect it, and treat it.” The WHO’s Global tuberculosis report 2024 can be accessed <a href="https://www.who.int/teams/global-tuberculosis-programme/tb-reports/global-tuberculosis-report-2024">here</a>.

Tuberculosis dethrones COVID-19 as world’s top infectious killer again; Half of all new cases from India, Indonesia

<keyword id="19897423" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="COVID-19" source="keywords">COVID-19</keyword>, the unwelcome guest that never quite leaves, may well be in the process of ushering in a fresh global wave, with <keyword id="6356662" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="singapore" source="Orion">Singapore</keyword> potentially on the front lines. The Singapore government is on alert, with its Ministry of Health reporting a significant rise in COVID-19 cases. There was a doubling of infections in the first half of May, with the numbers increasing from 13,700 in the first week of this month to 25,900 in the second (May 5 to 11). Hospitalisations have also spiked, with average daily admissions rising from 181 to around 250 in the same period. To manage hospital bed capacity, public hospitals have been directed to reduce non-urgent elective surgeries and transfer suitable patients to care facilities. Health Minister <keyword id="19895083" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ong-Ye-Kung" source="keywords">Ong Ye Kung</keyword> has indicated that Singapore is in the early stages of this wave, which is expected to peak between mid- and end-June. Recognising Singapore's role as a major transport and communications hub, Ong has acknowledged that the city-state is likely to experience COVID-19 waves earlier than other regions. An uptick in infection numbers has also been observed in the neighbouring countries as well, including Philippines. However, no alarming rise in hospitalisation has been reported yet. Regional reports are attributing this surge to new COVID-19 variants, collectively termed FLiRT. This name is based on the technical names for their mutations, one of which includes the letters "F" and "L", and another, the letters "R" and "T". The FLiRT group comprises of variants KP.1, KP.2, KP.3, JN.1.1 and JN.1.7. At present, KP.1 and KP.2 make up over two-thirds of cases in Singapore. While the WHO has classified KP.2 as a variant under monitoring, there is no evidence suggesting these variants are more transmissible or cause more severe illness than existing strains. Nevertheless, Ong has urged high-risk groups, including those aged 60 and above, medically vulnerable individuals, and residents of aged care facilities, to receive an additional COVID-19 vaccine dose if they haven't been vaccinated in the past year. The public has also been advised to consider wearing masks again. Ong emphasised that there are no current plans for social restrictions, as Singapore treats COVID-19 as an <keyword id="21743830" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="endemic-disease" source="keywords">endemic disease</keyword>. He noted that additional measures would only be considered as a last resort. “COVID-19 is just something that we have to live with. Every year, we should expect one or two waves,” he said. Meanwhile, 91 cases of the <keyword id="21640619" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="FLiRT-variants" source="keywords">FLiRT variants</keyword> have been detected in India. However, there have been no reports of severe cases or unique symptoms associated with these variants so far. (With inputs from TOI)

FLiRT-ing with pandemic! With a sharp rise in COVID cases, could Singapore be witnessing the start of a global wave?

Doctors in India are grappling to diagnose and treat unexplained and persistent symptoms of <keyword id="9814327" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="long-covid" source="Orion">long Covid</keyword> patients due to limited guidelines, whereas researchers have flagged inadequate studies on the condition. With the <keyword id="19896311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-health-organization" source="keywords">World Health Organization</keyword> declaring an end to <keyword id="19896627" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid" source="keywords">Covid</keyword> as a global <keyword id="416511" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="health-emergency" source="Orion">health emergency</keyword> in May last year, focused efforts are underway around the world to estimate the burden of long Covid among the population. The condition refers to the set of lingering symptoms affecting varied body parts and persisting well beyond the acute Covid infection period, including cough, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, brain fog and difficulty in focusing. The viral disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While studies have suggested that about a third of those moderately or severely infected are likely to suffer from long Covid, region-wise though, incidence could vary. A study by researchers, including those from <keyword id="19988007" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="harvard-medical-school" source="keywords">Harvard Medical School</keyword>, US, estimated that 31 % of the once-infected people in North America, 44% in Europe, and 51% in Asia, have long Covid, which is "challenging the healthcare system, but there are limited guidelines for its treatment". It was published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases in September. In India, however, studies on long Covid are few and far between. One such study by Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi, conducted from May 2022 to March 2023 on 553 patients who had recovered from Covid, found that about 45% had lingering symptoms, persistent fatigue and dry cough being the most common. "There is limited exploratory research on the long Covid syndrome with scarce data on long-term outcomes," the authors wrote in the study published in the journal Cureus in May this year. Understanding the long-term effects of the virus is important for developing management strategies, optimising healthcare delivery, and providing support to recovered Covid patients in the community, they said. Dr Rajesh Sagar, Professor of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, said, "Looking at the current state of long Covid studies in India, it is too premature to say that we understand the condition well enough to know how to diagnose or treat it." Animesh Samanta, assistant professor at School of Natural Sciences in <keyword id="19897094" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shiv-nadar-university" source="keywords">Shiv Nadar University</keyword>, Greater Noida, said, "While studies in India highlight the growing recognition of neurological complications in long Covid patients, more focused research on neuroinflammation is needed." Doctors, too, have reported a rise in patients complaining of symptoms that they did not have pre-Covid. "People who never had <keyword id="6465125" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="asthma" source="Orion">asthma</keyword> in the past, post-Covid, with every viral infection, they get a long cough, shortness of breath and wheezing, which require the use of <keyword id="31257" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="inhalers" source="Orion">inhalers</keyword> or nebuliser," senior consultant Dr Neetu Jain, who runs a post-Covid care clinic at Pushpawati Singhania Hospital and Research Institute, New Delhi, said. Dr Arun Garg, chairman, Neurology and Neurosciences, Medanta-The Medicity, Gurugram, said he was noticing a spike in stroke cases among young patients not suffering from known risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity. "Similarly, we are seeing more cases of encephalopathy (swelling of the brain) without reason and having a confused state of mind following one or two days of fever. Their MRI scans show no changes. These patients have increased significantly after Covid," he said. In the absence of medical guidelines to diagnose long Covid, doctors are having to resort to broad, non-specific tests and questionnaires to gauge a patient's 'quality of life'. Studies have shown that the fatigue experienced in long Covid is similar to that in cancer patients, with a quality of life similar to patients of Parkinson's disease. "We really do not have any test to diagnose long Covid, even though it is definitely a clinical diagnosis. We diagnose long Covid for people who had at least moderate to severe infection, following which they could never regain the quality of life pre-Covid. Checking for inflammatory markers like C-reactive proteins (CRP) can support the diagnosis," Dr Jain said. "Other than routine blood tests that measure inflammation, we do antibody tests to look for direct markers. In many of these patients, we are finding rare antibodies which are very new to us and were not there pre-Covid," Dr Garg said. Inflammation persisting despite recovery from acute Covid infection is thought to lie at the heart of long Covid. However, tests to measure this specific immune response are lacking, even as researchers have been working in this direction worldwide. One such effort comes from Shiv Nadar University, where a team led by Samanta has developed a fluorescent probe capable of detecting inflammation in brain cells that can arise due to Covid infection. The probe measures nitric oxide levels in brain cells, especially in human microglia cells, where increased NO levels are linked to the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Microglia are immune cells in the brain that fight disease and help maintain brain health. Lysosomes within microglia, which help clear foreign disease-causing agents like the SARS-CoV-2 virus, produce nitric oxide as part of an immune response to infection. The probe detects nitric oxide produced in lysosomes in response to infection and thereby allows for a measurement of inflammation levels. This examination method can provide "qualitative information on infection status", said Samanta, corresponding author on the study published in the journal Analytical Chemistry in American Chemical Society. He explained that patients with pre-existing conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis (an autoimmune disorder) could exhibit prolonged neuroinflammation and loss of brain cells following Covid infection. While the probe has shown efficacy in cell cultures, animal studies would need to be done, before testing it in humans, Samanta said. Looking at the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, the study by Harvard Medical School had found that 587 clinical studies were conducted on long Covid, of which about 53% (312) were testing potential treatments. Most of these were found to be conducted in the US (58), followed by India (55) and Spain (20). The trials looked at interventions including physical exercise, psychotherapy, and pharmacological ones such as paxlovid and fluvoxamine. However, "to date, only 11 of these 312 studies have published their results that were not confirmative," the researchers wrote. The team called for studies to look into sleep disorders which were rarely included in the registered clinical studies. Further, interventions targeting the biological processes responsible for long Covid are needed but currently lacking, they said.

Doctors struggle to treat long Covid patients in India; researchers point to inadequate studies

<ul class="summary-list"><li>JPMorgan says the best-case scenario for stocks is a divided Congress, regardless of winner.</li><li>Such a result would make it harder for either candidate to implement proposals.</li></ul>Regardless of the next president, JPMorgan expects stocks to rise if the US election delivers a divided Congress."Under either gridlock scenario, we think equities reprice higher as we clear the uncertainty, volatility decreases and hedges unwind, with investors refocusing on the Fed at a time when the economy and corporate earnings remain resilient," analysts led by Dubravko Lakos-Bujas said in note published Sunday.As of Tuesday morning, polling shows a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-donald-trump-swing-state-polls-photo-finish-2024-11">neck-to-neck race</a> between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Without a clear outcome, Wall Street could be headed toward two sharply different investing environments, given each candidate's contrasting policy ideas.However, Congressional gridlock would make it harder for either presidential candidate to implement their proposals as easily as they could under a Democratic or Republican-held Congress."I think the stock market has to be concerned if we get a sweep by the Democrats or a sweep by the Republicans," market veteran Ed Yardeni told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2024-10-22/election-gridlock-is-best-outcome-for-stocks-yardeni-video">Bloomberg TV</a> last month. He added: "So I think the stock market will do best if we basically vote for gridlock, that whoever's in the White House just doesn't have an open season to do whatever they want."To JPMorgan's point, investors have been preparing for the possibility of a red or blue sweep. For instance, tariff-sensitive consumer equities have been underperforming in anticipation of a potential Trump win. The Republican candidate has pledged to implement sweeping taxes on all US imports.Under a Trump presidency and a divided Congress, JPMorgan expects domestic and energy equities to be more sensitive. CHIPS Act beneficiaries and multinational companies are more sensitive under a Harris presidency and divided Congress.If a deadlocked Congress helps ease uncertainty over extreme policy changes, investors can once again focus on trading over macroeconomic factors.As JPMorgan noted, all eyes will turn to the Federal Reserve this week. The central bank is expected to implement a 25-basis-point interest rate cut this week.

Why JPMorgan says election gridlock will be the best-case scenario for stocks

Anyone following the rhetoric around <keyword id="107950" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Artificial-Intelligence" source="Orion">artificial intelligence</keyword> in recent years has heard one version or another of the cl<keyword id="6355999" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI" source="Orion">ai</keyword>m that AI is inevitable. Common themes are that AI is already here and indispensable, and people who are bearish on it harm themselves. In the business world, AI advocates tell companies and workers that they will fall behind if they fail to integrate generative AI into their operations. In the sciences, AI advocates promise that AI will aid in curing hitherto intractable diseases. In higher education, AI promoters admonish teachers that students must learn how to use AI or risk becoming uncompetitive when it comes time to find a job. In national security, AI's champions say that either the nation invests heavily in AI weaponry, or it will be at a disadvantage against the Chinese and Russians, who are already doing so. The argument across these different domains is essentially the same: The time for AI skepticism has come and gone. The <keyword id="6355118" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="technology" source="Orion">technology</keyword> will shape the future, whether you like it or not. You have the choice to learn how to use it or be left out of that future. Anyone trying to stand in the technology's way is as hopeless as the manual weavers who resisted the mechanical looms in the early 19th century. In the past few years, my colleagues and I (Nir Eisikovits, Professor of Philosophy and Director, Applied Ethics Center, UMass Boston) have been studying the ethical questions raised by the widespread adoption of AI, and I believe the inevitability argument is misleading. <h2>History and hindsight</h2> This claim is the most recent version of a deterministic view of technological development. It's the belief that innovations are unstoppable once people start working on them. In other words, some genies don't go back in their bottles. The best you can do is harness them for your good purposes. This deterministic approach to tech has a long history. It's been applied to the influence of the printing press as well as to the rise of automobiles and the infrastructure they require, among other developments. But I believe that when it comes to AI, the technological determinism argument is both exaggerated and oversimplified. <h2>AI in the field(s)</h2> Consider the contention that businesses can't afford to stay out of the AI game. The case has yet to be made that AI is delivering significant productivity gains to the firms that use it. A report in The <keyword id="20856675" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="economist" source="keywords">Economist</keyword> in July 2024 suggests that so far, the technology has had almost no economic impact. AI's role in higher education is also still very much an open question. Though universities have, in the past two years, invested heavily in AI-related initiatives, evidence suggests they may have jumped the gun. The technology can serve as an interesting pedagogical tool. For example, creating a Plato chatbot that lets students have a text conversation with a bot posing as Plato is a cool gimmick. However, AI is already starting to displace some of the best tools teachers have for assessment and for developing critical thinking, such as writing assignments. The college essay is going the way of the dinosaurs as more teachers give up on the ability to tell whether their students are writing their papers themselves. What's the cost-benefit argument for giving up on writing, an important and useful traditional skill? In the sciences and medicine, the use of AI seems promising. Its role in understanding the structure of proteins, for example, will likely be significant for curing diseases. The technology is also transforming medical imaging and has been helpful in accelerating the drug discovery process. But the excitement can become exaggerated. AI-based predictions about which cases of COVID-19 would become severe have roundly failed, and doctors rely excessively on the technology's diagnostic ability, often against their own better clinical judgment. And so, even in this area, where the potential is great, AI's ultimate impact is unclear. In national security, the argument for investing in AI development is compelling. Since the stakes can be high, the argument that if the Chinese and the Russians are developing AI-driven autonomous weapons, the United States can't afford to fall behind has real purchase. But a complete surrender to this form of reasoning, though tempting, is likely to lead the <keyword id="19899807" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="u-s-" source="keywords">U.S.</keyword> to overlook the disproportionate impact of these systems on nations that are too poor to participate in the AI arms race. The major powers could deploy the technology in conflicts in these nations. And, just as significantly, this argument de-emphasizes the possibility of collaborating with adversaries on limiting military AI systems, favoring arms race over arms control.<h2> One step at a time</h2> Surveying the potential significance and risks of AI in these different domains merits some skepticism about the technology. I believe that AI should be adopted piecemeal and with a nuanced approach rather than subject to sweeping claims of inevitability. In developing this careful take, there are two things to keep in mind: -First, companies and entrepreneurs working on artificial intelligence have an obvious interest in the technology being perceived as inevitable and necessary, since they make a living from its adoption. It's important to pay attention to who is making claims of inevitability, and why. -Second, it's worth taking a lesson from recent history. Over the past 15 years, smartphones and the social media apps that run on them have come to be seen as a fact of life - a technology as transformative as it is inevitable. Then data started emerging about the <keyword id="6354774" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mental-health" source="Orion">mental health</keyword> harms they cause teens, especially young girls. School districts across the United States started to ban phones to protect the attention spans and mental health of their students. And some people have reverted to using flip phones as a quality of life change to avoid smartphones. After a long experiment with the mental health of kids, facilitated by claims of technological determinism, Americans changed course. What seemed fixed turned out to be alterable. There is still time to avoid repeating the same mistake with artificial intelligence, which potentially could have larger consequences for society.

Is AI dominance inevitable? A technology ethicist says no, actually

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US economy is on solid footing with cooling inflation and continued growth.</li><li>Yet, the outlook for the stock market is less clear, with analysts divided over how long the bull rally can run. </li></ul>Things are looking great for the US economy.Inflation is falling, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/employee-productivity-booming-workers-jobs-ai-stock-market-gdp-2024-3">productivity is rising,</a> and the Federal Reserve is easing monetary policy, which should act as a tailwind for economic growth.Economists have shifted from arguing about a potential recession to forecasting whether a "soft landing" or "no landing" is more likely. It seems the debate is simply <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/america-new-economic-supercycle-growth-inflation-stock-market-global-chaos-2024-10">about how fast the economy can grow from here.</a>But the outlook for the stock market is less clear, with major Wall Street banks still divided on whether stock prices have further room to run.Stocks are trading near record highs, with the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/s&amp;p_500">S&amp;P 500</a> on track to deliver back-to-back annual gains of more than 20%.Among the top analysts at Wall Street banks, there's some disagreement about whether all of the good news is priced in already or if the market can continue to rise beyond already lofty valuations. On the one hand, most see the gains set to continue, pushing past election uncertainty and continuing to lift stocks into 2025. However, beyond that timeline, uncertainty builds and outlooks get murky. Here's what Wall Street is saying about the prospects for the stock market heading into 2025 and beyond.<h2 id="62a39dfb-29e2-437a-b286-98b65dca264e">The Bulls</h2>A slew of Wall Street banks are chasing the record rally in the stock market this year, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-sp500-targets-bull-market-goldman-ubs-bmo-2024-10">boosting their S&amp;P 500 year-end price targets</a> to play catch-up.Strategists at UBS <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-sp500-prediction-us-economy-no-landing-ubs-2024-10">increased their S&amp;P 500 price targets</a> in a note last week, expecting the S&amp;P 500 to hit 6,300 by June 2025 and 6,600 at the end of next year.That represents potential upside of 8% and 13%, respectively.UBS CIO head of US equities David Lefkowitz said "healthy" earnings growth will pave the way for further stock gains."Third-quarter earnings season has started on a positive note with bank management teams highlighting that consumer spending remains healthy and consistent with normal economic growth," Lefkowitz said.The bank said improving inflation, more Fed rate cuts, and accelerating investment in artificial intelligence should all help support the stock market next year.Strength begets more strength, and that's a big part of BMO strategist Brian Belski's bullish outlook for stocks into 2025.Belski <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-bmo-raises-year-end-sp500-price-target-2024-9">increased his year-end S&amp;P 500 price target to 6,100</a> from 5,600 last month, making him one of the most bullish strategists on Wall Street."We continue to be surprised by the strength of market gains and decided yet again that something more than an incremental adjustment was warranted," Belski said in the note.He's also encouraged by the broadening out of the stock market rally, as it's no longer concentrated in a handful of tech giants. That's healthy behavior for sustainable stock market gains, according to the note."This is a trend we expect to continue and should help to support future market gains even if the price and fundamental performance of Mag-X stocks continues to decelerate in the months ahead," Belski said.<h2 id="fc7c3d7b-c8d5-4665-bd3c-1c08a92b6ce4">The Bears</h2>The bearish strategists on Wall Street are sticking to their views even after being wrong all year. Their top worry is the potential for fewer interest rate cuts than expected and growing hype in AI that might fail to deliver.JPMorgan strategists have held firm to their bearish S&amp;P 500 year-end price target of 4,200, which represents potential downside of 28% from current levels.In a note earlier this month, JPMorgan strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas admitted that a recession appears off the table but said that AI investments are unlikely to pay off with lingering questions around monetization issues.Additionally, investor expectations of a Federal Reserve that is about to embark on a string of interest rate cuts could be disappointed if the economy continues to stay resilient, as it would limit the Fed's ability to cut rates, likely putting downward pressure on stock prices.Finally, JPMorgan warned in a note on Monday that third-quarter earnings have seen a flurry of estimate downgrades as sell-side analysts lower their expectations."Earnings downgrades have been significant," JPMorgan said, adding that they "appear to be worsening."Stifel strategist Barry Bannister has warned investors about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-crash-sp500-prediction-bubble-overvalued-stifel-outlook-2024-10">a potential plunge in the stock market in 2025.</a>Elevated valuations, unfounded expectations for more Fed rate cuts, and hype for AI that ultimately falls short of expectations could create a perfect storm for lower stock prices next year."We took a clean sheet look at the equity market and came away with the same smh (shaking my head) emoji reaction. Despite all the soft-landing and Fed rate cut optimism, the S&amp;P 500 up almost 40% y/y has simply over-shot," Bannister said.While the strategist admitted that a "mania" could take hold in the market and push stock prices even higher from here, it will ultimately end with a crescendo and then a fresh swing to the downside."Sure, we can cherry-pick with the best of them and apply the most over-valued cyclically adjusted valuation level of the past 35 years to show about 10% further upside, but that same analysis of a century of manias also returns the S&amp;P 500 in 2025 to where 2024 began (down 26% from that prospective peak)," Bannister said.<h2 id="1f44d16a-28c8-40a7-bee1-9a426c3bf02e">Somewhere in between</h2>Goldman Sachs strategist David Kostin is bullish, at least in the short term.The bank's chief stock strategist recently increased his year-end S&amp;P 500 price target to 6,000 on the prospect of further growth in corporate earnings. "The primary driver of the upward revision to our 2025 EPS estimate is greater margin expansion," Kostin said. "The macro backdrop remains conducive to modest margin expansion, with prices charged outpacing input cost growth."And yet, Kostin also argues that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-sp500-future-returns-decade-forecast-goldman-sachs-2024-10">a golden era of stock market returns is probably over</a>. In a note over the weekend, Kostin issued his 10-year forecast for the stock market. He said that a combination of extreme market concentration and high valuations suggests the S&amp;P 500 will deliver annualized returns of just 3% over the next 10 years. That's compared to the S&amp;P 500's annualized return of about 13% over the past 10 years."Investors should be prepared for equity returns during the next decade that are towards the lower end of their typical performance distribution relative to bonds and inflation," Kostin said.Goldman also sees stocks struggling relative to other assets over the next decade. The bank says the S&amp;P 500 has about a 72% chance of trailing bond-market returns and a 33% probability of lagging inflation through 2034.His long-term view aligns with other bears who fret that the coming decade will look much worse than the last. Stifel's Bannister has also argued for a "lost decade" for the stock market.

Wall Street is divided on the future of stocks. Here are bull and bear cases from the biggest banks.

Incidence of stroke and related deaths are rising substantially around the world, with <keyword id="19900550" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="air-pollution" source="keywords">air pollution</keyword>, <keyword id="21334318" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="high-temperatures" source="keywords">high temperatures</keyword> and metabolic risk factors such as high blood pressure and physical inactivity, driving these increases, according to estimates published in The Lancet Neurology journal. Researchers found that the contribution of high temperatures to poor health and early death due to stroke has increased 72% since 1990 and is likely to continue increasing in the future, thereby highlighting how environmental factors can impact growing stroke burden. Further, for the first time, particulate matter or PM air pollution was found to have the same contribution as smoking towards causing a fatal form of brain bleed, according to the researchers forming the <keyword id="20691740" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Global-Burden-of-Disease" source="keywords">Global Burden of Disease</keyword>, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) group. The GBD study, the "largest and most comprehensive effort to quantify health loss across places and over time", is coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, US. Globally, the number of people experiencing a stroke for the first time rose to 119 lakh in 2021 -- up by 70% since 1990 -- while deaths related to stroke rose to 73 lakh, which was up by 44% since 1990, making the neurological condition the third leading cause of death after ischaemic heart disease (short supply of blood to heart) and COVID-19. They added that over three-fourth of those affected by strokes live in low- and middle-income countries. According to lead author Valery L. Feigin from Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, the rapid growth in the number of people affected by stroke strongly suggested that <keyword id="23228151" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="stroke-prevention" source="keywords">stroke prevention</keyword> strategies currently used are not sufficiently effective. "New, proven effective population-wide and motivational individual prevention strategies that could be applied to all people at risk of having a stroke, regardless of the level of risk, as recommended in the recent Lancet Neurology Commission on Stroke should be implemented across the globe urgently," said Feigin. The researchers also estimated that stroke-related liabilities attributable to 23 modifiable risk factors, including air pollution, excess body weight, high blood pressure, smoking and physical inactivity, increased from 100 million years of healthy life lost in 1990 to 135 million in 2021. These risk factors are present in huge numbers in Eastern Europe, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, they said. The authors also acknowledged substantial progress made in reducing the global stroke burden from risk factors linked to poor diet, air pollution and smoking. Poor health resulting from diets high in processed meat and low in vegetables declined by 40 % and 30%, respectively, while that due to PM air pollution and smoking fell by 20 % and 13%, respectively, they found. The results suggested that strategies for reducing exposure to these risk factors over the past three decades such as clean air zones and public smoking bans have been successful, the authors said. They called for implementing and monitoring the evidence-based recommendations set out in the 2023 World Stroke Organization-Lancet Neurology Commission on stroke for drastically reducing the global burden of stroke in the years to come and improving brain health and overall well-being of millions of people around the world. The recommendations include stroke surveillance programmes that monitor indicators of stroke such as incidence, recurrence, death rates and risk factors in a country, and care and rehabilitation services for people affected by stroke.

Stroke cases increasing globally, air pollution, high temperatures driving numbers, notes Lancet Study

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.</li></ul>Halfway to the weekend! I hope you never face a layoff scare, but if you do we've got some help. A 20-year HR professional offered advice on what to do <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/things-do-immediately-when-layoff-rumors-start-2024-6">when the rumors of cutbacks start swirling</a>. (Save those personal docs!)In today's big story, we're looking at the latest controversy to embroil OpenAI <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-mess-concerns-over-nda-safety-sam-altman-2024-6">amid a difficult few months for the startup</a>.What's on deck:<ul><li>Markets: Hedge funds' May report cards are in, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/may-hedge-fund-returns-citadel-trailed-rivals-while-schonfeld-surged-2024-6">an industry juggernaut faced a setback</a>.</li><li>Tech: This isn't your annoying aunt's Facebook; <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-gen-z-young-adults-meta-plan-mark-zuckerberg-2024-6">it's now pitching Gen Z</a>.</li><li>Business: A certain group of Americans believe <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/golden-age-rich-renters-not-buying-home-price-new-apartment-2024-6">renting over buying is the way to go</a>.</li></ul>But first, oh how the tables have turned.If this was forwarded to you, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today">sign up here.</a><h3 id="7fa5f018-5b05-4a37-a8dc-d3f89138bcb3">The big story</h3><h2 id="5fd547b9-ec52-41fc-8e08-4f4b27dd8097">Up in arms over OpenAI</h2><div type="image" title="sam altman" height="950" width="1440" msid="110739192" hostid="261" sizebytes="167996"></div>The world's most high-profile startup has also become one of its most controversial.A small group of current and former OpenAI employees <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-employee-letter-google-deepmind-ai-risks-protections-2024-6">signed an open letter to tech companies</a> asking for more transparency and not to retaliate against workers who raise concerns about AI's power.While there was a sprinkling of Google DeepMind and Anthropic signees, the majority of the group were past and present OpenAI-ers. It marks another controversy for the startup that's been grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons.From public spats with Scarlett Johansson and Elon Musk to salty executive exits, Business Insider's Madeline Berg <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-mess-concerns-over-nda-safety-sam-altman-2024-6">has a full rundown on the chaos at OpenAI this year</a>.At the center is CEO Sam Altman, whose act is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/insider-today-sam-altman-openai-silicon-valley-venture-capitalists-controversy-2024-3">wearing thin in certain tech circles</a>.Much of the outrage stems from a lack of guardrails around artificial general intelligence, or the idea that tech could ultimately outperform humans at various tasks and capabilities.OpenAI and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-scope-of-sam-altmans-future-ai-empire-open-ai-2024-3">Altman</a> have long sought to achieve AGI, but experts warn it could ultimately lead to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/experts-think-ai-bring-next-industrial-revolution-trigger-nuclear-war-2023-2">humanity's extinction</a>.<div type="image" title="Sam Altman" height="3811" width="5593" msid="110739194" hostid="261" sizebytes="467328"></div>But how did things turn so quickly for OpenAI?I asked one venture investor who's spoken to multiple high-profile AI experts. Their takeaway was simple: OpenAI wants to have it both ways regarding how it's perceived about safety and commercialization.On the one hand, safety is built into the core of the startup. It's structured as a "capped-profit" company governed by a nonprofit, and Altman doesn't hold equity directly in OpenAI. The idea was for OpenAI to pursue building AGI that "<a target="_blank" href="https://openai.com/our-structure/">is safe and benefits all of humanity</a>."But the startup's commercial aspirations are clear. It's aggressively pushed out new models to compete with rivals and is reportedly considering <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-mulls-turning-openai-into-a-regular-company-2024-5">adjusting its structure to become a full-blown, for-profit company</a>. It also disbanded <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-ends-superalignment-team-manage-ai-risks-2024-5">the team responsible for mitigating AI risks</a>.The result, the VC told me, is people feel OpenAI is talking out of both sides of its mouth. In reality, they said, the split between OpenAI's focus on commercialization versus safety feels like it's more 95/5, respectively.It doesn't help that some OpenAI employees joined when that split was closer to 80/20 and favored safety over business, they added.The impetus for the increased focus on business isn't entirely clear. But the failed ouster of Altman, which included <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-board-member-details-sam-altman-lied-allegation-ousted-2024-5">concerns over safety</a>, does seem like a turning point for the startup.Whatever the case, OpenAI can't keep trying to sit on both sides of the fence, according to the VC. The tensions are too high between commercial and safety aspirations to straddle the line and not expect more issues, they said.<h2 id="8120060b-ae66-48dc-b149-f0489a30ffa2">3 things in markets</h2><div type="image" title="Izzy Englander, Millennium Management's founder and CEO." height="650" width="1300" msid="110739196" hostid="261" sizebytes="40054"></div><ol><li>All the top executives at Millennium Management. Izzy Englander's $64 billion hedge-fund behemoth has grown its leadership ranks considerably over the past decade. BI mapped out <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennium-org-chart-top-executives-izzy-englander-2024-6">Millennium's 47 top executives across its 17 primary offices</a>.</li><li>Turns out Ken Griffin's Citadel is human after all. The $63 billion hedge fund's flagship fund was down 0.8% last month, several people told BI. Meanwhile, two of Schonfeld's funds enjoyed a strong month. Check out <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/may-hedge-fund-returns-citadel-trailed-rivals-while-schonfeld-surged-2024-6">how the top multistrategy managers performed</a>.</li><li>Maybe we shouldn't celebrate GameStop's comeback. The resurgence in meme stocks is a <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-meme-stocks-bad-sign-valuations-peak-gamestop-2024-6">bad sign for markets</a>, according to JPMorgan strategist Marko Kolanovic. He took issue with how valuations have remained so elevated and reiterated his gloomy stock view.</li></ol><h2 id="f4b54806-7f81-450c-ba32-92560d4fae9b">3 things in tech</h2><div type="image" title="Mark Zuckerberg" height="1000" width="2000" msid="110739200" hostid="261" sizebytes="74656"></div><ol><li>Hello, youngs. Mark Zuckerberg would like a word. In an attempt to reach Gen Z, Facebook is leaning into TikTok-like discovery, and away from friends and family. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-gen-z-young-adults-meta-plan-mark-zuckerberg-2024-6">It's a strategy that might just work</a>.</li><li>Elon Musk diverted $500 million in AI processors from Tesla to X. The move, first reported by CNBC, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-sent-500-million-tesla-nvidia-chips-to-x-2024-6">could delay Tesla's development of autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots</a>. It highlights Musk's decision to "build products outside of Tesla" until he has 25% of voting control at the company.</li><li>Major Google exec makes a shock exit. Google's chief privacy officer, Keith Enright, is leaving the company after 13 years, and the company has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-privacy-chief-keith-enright-exit-2024-6">no plans to replace him</a>. His move comes as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-lawsuit">Google's privacy policies</a> have faced scrutiny.</li></ol><h2 id="9260fa45-d397-4b3c-b4f8-4bb193976216">3 things in business</h2><div type="image" title="Gold apartment buildings with 'For Rent' signs and a sign reading '2 Months Free' with money falling" height="900" width="1200" msid="110739202" hostid="261" sizebytes="176086"></div><ol><li>Welcome to the golden age for rich renters. It's hard to buy a home right now, but <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/golden-age-rich-renters-not-buying-home-price-new-apartment-2024-6">some renters don't care</a>. They've found that instead of buying, they can rent a place with comped parking, boxing gyms, and rooftop pools. And compared to a down payment, the apartments feel like a bargain.</li><li>Meet the rising stars of sports betting and gaming. As the industry evolves and more states legalize gambling, new roles are being created to meet its growing demands. We profiled <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rising-stars-sports-betting-and-gaming-at-draftkings-fanduel-more-2024-6">16 people who are driving growth in the field</a>, from responsible gaming to micro betting.</li><li>No more free internet for Shopify workers. Shopify said it will soon stop reimbursements for employees' internet costs and some other expenses, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shopify-ends-internet-reimbursement-policy-other-employee-benefits-2024-6">according to internal docs seen by BI</a>. The expense was introduced during the pandemic, but unlike some of its peers, the company is still remote-first.</li></ol><h2 id="1ad7b482-3f4b-44b4-81b6-a864aa386478">In other news</h2><ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-oliver-india-election-results-sliding-towards-authoritarianism-modi-2024-6">John Oliver warns India is 'sliding towards authoritarianism' as Modi declares victory in tighter-than-expected election</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jennifer-lopez-cancels-tour-slow-ticket-sales-concerts-prices-ticketmaster-2024-6">The Great Concert Ticket Bust</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-companies-us-business-students-want-to-work-for-2024-6">The 15 companies US business students most want to work for</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-video-generator-pika-funding-series-b-700-million-2024-6">Exclusive: AI video generator Pika is seeking a valuation as high as $700 million in new funding round</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://l.businessinsider.com/a/click?_t=c8e10479a20f45bba5aad6c5f6fbb009&amp;_m=05f299ea5e1a4d8a9dd234b06730216c&amp;_e=HRxmESEJHGJRT8Nb77gyTCwJGhPNGwP27e7TrHt0Z9uqo-RJSIqJvI-uBRH-ritbitG11KgJw--Gl89psQZrr8q9RSew0YDfscgl9mwunvRo5Q6WYjLuHhg_KBe9fW8pHHHCbyw93EDOlziY7Fb-4PrzDZy9gJfucYff72XtfmqXMRwxQbahFbQ4d75GAuyCQKh7UDF9MJ0donb70j-xIi-d7mZ0n3WhfnGYWLAAxf20gRqyCYFUngbW5SorAPAKRIP8vdDUKUoAAv6shiCfCIiMjIveywIAl6OUpPeMfe8ERgd093sKcN0HCGG5bmZoUy0bNDInpl6UTy53Q3hQX95E8YASXo3ylyJM0m3nuDFekhg4cl4PuLZowpvvzcjpTCM_poDXX-02Ov2ff8rIGQ3CwJIsHcQuRryu16Yt0JjL2GyQc03_stYF_eHJcCdsk4tyTp1lgvQckngX0J2esw%3D%3D">Ad agency BENlabs has laid off staffers and named a new CEO as the company restructures</a>.</li></ul><h2 id="9f5d80ac-3466-429f-a50a-2ffbb70c65ff">What's happening today</h2><ul><li>SpaceX will attempt its fourth suborbital test launch of its prototype Starship vehicle.</li></ul>The Insider Today team: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dan-defrancesco">Dan DeFrancesco</a>, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/jordan-parker-erb">Jordan Parker Erb</a>, editor, in New York. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/jack-sommers">Jack Sommers</a>, deputy editor, in London. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/george-glover">George Glover</a>, reporter, in London. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/annie-smith">Annie Smith</a>, associate producer, in London.

OpenAI is facing controversy. Again. 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I baked with my dad and wanted to do it with my kids, but an undiagnosed illness made it impossible.</li><li>When I learned I had multiple sclerosis, I finally started receiving treatment.</li></ul>When I was little, I'd stand on a kitchen chair by the counter as my father poured flour into the mixer. "Turn it on," he'd say, and together we'd watch the ingredients morph into batter. He did the same with his mother, and I always thought I'd do the same with my kids, but we never had the chance. I stopped baking during those early parenting years because I was living with undiagnosed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/multiple-sclerosis-ms-diagnosis-symptoms-pregnancy-postpartum-dizziness-2023-9">multiple sclerosis</a> (MS). I physically couldn't do it.When my younger son was a toddler, I couldn't stand long enough to cook dinner, let alone bake. It was one of many hobbies this disease stole from me as my body declined and my search for a diagnosis grew.Flour. Sugar. Baking powder. Vanilla extract. Butter. Eggs. By the time I'd collected all the ingredients on the counter, my legs were devoid of energy. I stirred until my arm muscles throbbed — often, it wasn't long enough.Some days, I'd push on anyway, determined to hang on to this one piece of myself so that I wasn't defined by this disease. But after sifting, pouring, mixing — and standing — weakness and pain would win.As my legs begged for rest, I'd slowly sink downward into a sitting position until I reached the kitchen floor. There, I cried, mourning the loss of who I was.<h2>I hung up my apron as I waited for a diagnosis</h2>"Perhaps I was once a baker," I'd tell myself. But now, I was a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/christina-applegate-what-to-expect-when-diagnosed-with-multiple-sclerosis-2021-8">chronically ill</a> mother struggling to survive, and it was hard to recognize myself.Being in the kitchen was a reminder that I was living with a debilitating yet mysterious disease. When cooking, I'd lean on the counter to relieve some of the weight my body was supporting, but that only helped for so long. I'd prepare meals as quickly as I could, sitting at the counter while I worked when possible.By the time my second son was born, I'd already exhausted doctors in every specialty without <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/have-tourette-syndrome-working-on-controlling-tics-2024-2">receiving a diagnosis</a>. Resting in the evenings instead of baking like I once did was the only way to push through. I simply had no other choice.Baking became a hobby of my past, and my muffin tins found their way to the bottom of my cabinet, buried under kitchen necessities. This disease left no space for activities of enjoyment.<h2>I learned I had multiple sclerosis</h2>After 13 years of searching for an answer, a neurologist ordered a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/invisible-disability-parent-work-from-bed-2022-8">lumbar puncture</a>, and with the results, he suggested, "I think what we're dealing with here is MS." With treatment, my body finally had a chance to improve. Slowly, over a few years, I found myself again. Short walks became easier. Moving around my home felt more natural. Exercising became routine. My muffin tins emerged from hiding.At first, I found old recipes I used to bake with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/old-dad-age-difference-older-parent-benefits-wisdom-2024-1">my father during childhood</a> — ones I'd written on loose-leaf paper and brought to college with me. I've been on a gluten-free diet for the last decade, and I now experiment with new recipes in search of the best gluten-free muffin. I rediscovered the therapeutic nature of baking and how it relieves stress and heals trauma.I'm six years into MS treatment, and my 12-year-old now enjoys mixing the batter with me. He's too big to stand on a chair beside me, eagerly watching the ingredients swirl together. We were cheated out of the magic of baking during toddlerhood, but we're making up for lost time. It's a chance I never knew we'd have.My body is still imperfect. Mixing is difficult at times, and I can't stand indefinitely, but baking is now possible — and I have a helper to take over when I need to rest. This Mother's Day, as we bake together, my son and I will appreciate the little things that many people take for granted, like the smell of muffins baking in the oven, the decadence of a handful of Ghirardelli chocolate chips, the wonder of watching the batter rise through the oven door, and the ability to simply stand long enough to bake.Baking muffins with my son helps me appreciate everything my body can do despite MS. We have a second chance to measure, sift, mix, and pour together — even though he doesn't need to stand on a chair to see the bowl. It's like finding a lost puzzle piece after many years and finally feeling whole again — it's the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mothers-day-gift-really-want-alone-time-2024-5">best Mother's Day gift</a> I could ask for.

This Mother's Day, I'm celebrating the fact that I can bake with my kid again. Not long ago, that wasn't the case.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.</li></ul>Happy Friday! Do you peel carrots? Do you cut asparagus? I regret to inform you that you're <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/foods-that-you-dont-know-how-to-slice-or-cut-2020-3">probably not correctly prepping your fruits and veggies</a>.In today's big story, we're looking at how Threads' algorithm is sending you content that's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/threads-meta-engagement-rage-bait-viral-katie-notopoulos-i-tried-2024-9">sending you over the edge</a>.What's on deck:<ul><li>Markets: Some insiders aren't sold on Wall Street's pledge to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-skepticism-80-hour-work-week-caps-jpmorgan-bofa-2024-9">cut down on junior bankers' hours</a>.</li><li>Tech: Nvidia's Jensen Huang has a plan for his GPUs <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nvidia-taiwan-tsmc-jensen-huang-china-disruption-2024-9">if China invades Taiwan</a>.</li><li>Business: MrBeast could <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-mrbeast-could-face-business-problems-become-next-buzzfeed-2024-9">ultimately face the same fate as BuzzFeed</a>.</li></ul>But first, I can't believe she said that.If this was forwarded to you, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today">sign up here.</a><h3 id="7fa5f018-5b05-4a37-a8dc-d3f89138bcb3">The big story</h3><h2 id="5fd547b9-ec52-41fc-8e08-4f4b27dd8097">For You (to get angry)</h2><div type="image" title="Comments swarming a threads post on a fishing line" height="1000" width="2000" msid="113330280" hostid="261" sizebytes="69988"></div>They say love always wins, but on Threads hate can get you pretty far too.Instagram's X alternative is barely a year old, but an interesting theme is emerging on the app. Engagement bait, particularly the kind that elicits impassioned reactions, is popping up all over Threads.Business Insider's Katie Notopoulos is no stranger to diving head-first into internet trends (perhaps you're familiar with her "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-ai-glue-pizza-i-tried-it-2024-5">glue pizza</a>" or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vape-phone-swype-replace-smartphone-dumb-phone-iphone-review-2024-7">testing out a vape phone</a>). This time, she tried to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/threads-meta-engagement-rage-bait-viral-katie-notopoulos-i-tried-2024-9">drum up engagement on her Threads account with some rage bait</a>.Rage bait — if you're unfamiliar, congrats on not being chronically online — is content purposefully designed to generate strong reactions. Example: Should I charge the parents of my kid's friend for the playdate I hosted at my house?While rage bait can be found across social media, its prominence on Threads is because of how the app promotes content. Instead of posts with lots of favorites or reshares getting top billing, stuff with the most replies gets the biggest push from Threads' algo.And while Katie's rage baiting was an experiment, some online creators have gone all in on engagement-farming their way to the top of Threads. One digital marketer who Katie spoke with is looking to get a billion views on Threads in 30 days. (He's well on his way.)<div type="image" title="Photo illustration of worm on fishing hook in threads For you page" height="1440" width="1920" msid="113330284" hostid="261" sizebytes="33208"></div>If stories like Katie's annoy you, understand you're part of the problem.(No, this is not meant to be rage bait.)Social media can be frustrating for a number of reasons. But one common gripe from people is the type of content being pushed to them.The algorithms powering TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter all operate differently, but the end goal is the same: Keep you on their apps as long as possible.With that in mind, there's often something in your behavior on social media that's leading the apps to send those posts your way.Granted, it's not a perfect system. Just because I linger on one video about expensive pens doesn't mean I need 15 more explaining which ink is the best for a Montblanc.Which gets us back to rage bait and why it'll probably never die. People love responding to an obviously bad take. And it's especially fun when a ton of people agree with you. "Not only are you wrong, 100 of my random internet friends are validating my opinion."In the grand scheme of things, rage bait is not the worst thing on social media <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-apple-feud-app-store-child-teen-mental-health-2024-9">by a long shot</a>. And Big Tech shoulders the majority of the blame for the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/surgeon-general-social-media-warning-label-mental-health-crisis-children-2024-6">mental-health crisis</a> social media has created.But when it comes to rage bait's rise, the one worth getting upset at might be ourselves.<h3 id="77f31a4c-8462-4e3d-a71f-838cb79493fb">News brief</h3><h2 id="1fcd294b-3f53-425f-9f20-4093e8623b59">Top headlines</h2><ul><li>Over 30,000 Boeing workers are <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-workers-preparing-to-strike-rejected-contract-wage-increase-2024-9">preparing to strike</a> after rejecting a new labor contract.</li><li>Sam Altman tells Oprah he <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-talks-someone-government-every-few-days-2024-9">talks about AI with someone in government</a> every few days.</li><li>Trump says he won't <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-says-he-wont-debate-kamala-harris-again-2024-9">debate Kamala Harris again</a>.</li><li>A Navy SEAL unit that killed Osama bin Laden is busy preparing for<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-team-six-preparing-china-invasion-of-taiwan-report-2024-9"> a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan</a>: report.</li></ul><h2 id="8120060b-ae66-48dc-b149-f0489a30ffa2">3 things in markets</h2><div type="image" title="Wall Street bull on fire" height="898" width="1272" msid="113330278" hostid="261" sizebytes="48112"></div><ol><li>Junior bankers are bearish on Wall Street's ability to change. After the death of a Green Beret-turned-investment banker in May, JPMorgan and Bank of America vowed to cap junior bankers' hours at 80 per week "in most cases." But young employees doubt the rules will be enforced. "In reality, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-skepticism-80-hour-work-week-caps-jpmorgan-bofa-2024-9">nothing is going to change</a>," one incoming analyst told BI.</li><li>Goldman Sachs' David Solomon isn't giving up hope on a 50-basis-point cut. The bank's CEO, who previously said he didn't see any rate cuts happening this year, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/labor-market-data-fed-rate-cut-goldman-sachs-ceo-solomon-2024-9">now sees a path to a jumbo cut</a>. Solomon said the percentage chance of a larger cut are in the low 30s thanks to a softening labor market.</li><li>Warren Buffett's bad bet. The legendary investor's $13 billion investment in Occidental Petroleum <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-occidental-petroleum-stock-oil-price-drop-2024-9">isn't looking good</a>. Shares in the company have dropped 29% since mid-April amid a wider selloff in crude oil.</li></ol><h2 id="f4b54806-7f81-450c-ba32-92560d4fae9b">3 things in tech</h2><div type="image" title="Khosla Ventures partner Kanu Gulati" height="1707" width="2560" msid="113330286" hostid="261" sizebytes="148872"></div><ol><li>How to turn a cold email into a VC partner gig. Kanu Gulati earned a Ph.D. in computer science and thought she'd spend her career in research labs. Instead, a cold email to Khosla Ventures led to an internship studying AI and GPUs. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kanu-gulati-transitioned-research-scientist-ai-investor-khosla-ventures-2024-9">Now she's a partner at the firm</a>, writing checks to back AI companies.</li><li>It's survival of the richest in this stage of the AI race. Just ask OpenAI, which is reportedly in talks to raise billions despite having already secured $10 billion last year. The startup race to build powerful AI models looks set to get <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-funding-talks-ai-race-survival-expensive-2024-9">a whole lot more expensive</a>.</li><li>If anything happens in Taiwan, Nvidia will keep calm and carry on. Jensen Huang <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nvidia-taiwan-tsmc-jensen-huang-china-disruption-2024-9">doesn't want you to worry</a> about possible political escalation between China and Taiwan, where Nvidia's chips are made. "If anything were to happen" there, Huang said, Nvidia could move manufacturing somewhere else.</li></ol><h2 id="9260fa45-d397-4b3c-b4f8-4bb193976216">3 things in business</h2><div type="image" title="MrBeast" height="975" width="1300" msid="113330281" hostid="261" sizebytes="35876"></div><ol><li>MrBeast could go bust like BuzzFeed, a VC says. YouTube star MrBeast mastered social media algorithms to build a huge audience in no time. If that sounds familiar, it's because BuzzFeed cofounder Jonah Peretti did the same thing. A VC investor thinks MrBeast may run into <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-mrbeast-could-face-business-problems-become-next-buzzfeed-2024-9">the same business hurdles that plagued the digital brand</a>.</li><li>Warner Bros.' crucial cable deal just made HBO free for millions of people. The troubled media conglomerate <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wbd-hbo-max-charter-deal-tnt-nba-cable-2024-9">just signed a deal with Charter</a>, one of the country's biggest pay-TV distributors, that makes the HBO streaming service Max free for Charter subscribers. In return, Charter will continue carrying Warner Bros.' cable channels like TNT and Discovery.</li><li>The most desirable employers for business and tech students. Thousands of business and tech students around the world told employee branding specialist Universum where they want to work in 2024. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-companies-employers-global-business-students-apple-google-amazon-ey-2024-9">Here's what business students said</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-companies-employers-global-tech-students-google-ibm-microsoft-apple-2024-9">here's what tech students said</a>.</li></ol><h2 id="1ad7b482-3f4b-44b4-81b6-a864aa386478">In other news</h2><ul><li>You may not have noticed your <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-deflation-prices-falling-used-cars-furniture-groceries-2024-9">big-ticket purchases</a> are getting cheaper.</li><li>Katy Perry's triumphant VMAs performance <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/katy-perry-vmas-vanguard-performance-review-2024-9">isn't good news for her career</a>.</li><li>Bosses forcing RTO <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hybrid-work-flexibility-not-rto-may-help-companies-boost-sales-2024-9">may regret it</a>.</li></ul><h2 id="9f5d80ac-3466-429f-a50a-2ffbb70c65ff">What's happening today</h2><ul><li>New iPhones are available to pre-order.</li></ul>The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.

Engagement bait's rise on Threads is another example of how we just can't help ourselves on social media 

Everything is connected. Nature itself thrives on an intricate web of interdependence, with every element—including human beings—complexly intertwined. Now, this fundamental fact is being further reinforced by new findings on COVID-19. The <keyword id="8858345" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SARS-CoV-2" source="Orion">SARS-CoV-2</keyword> virus initially jumped from animals to humans, triggering a pandemic on the global stage. As cases multiplied across populations worldwide, humans have ended up spilling the virus back into the wildlife, leading to new outbreaks among various animal species. Genetic analysis of <keyword id="6383885" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="wild-animals" source="Orion">wild animals</keyword> has revealed not only the presence of SARS-CoV-2, but also the emergence of unique <keyword id="22599311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="viral-mutations" source="keywords">viral mutations</keyword>. These mutations show a close relationship to the variants circulating among humans, illustrating the ongoing exchange between our species and wildlife. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Nature’s COVID-19 cycle: From wildlife to humans and back again" comment="subhead" text="Nature’s COVID-19 cycle: From wildlife to humans and back again">Nature’s COVID-19 cycle: From wildlife to humans and back again</cmsannotation> The study by Virginia Tech involved analysing 798 nasal and oral swabs from animals trapped in the field or treated at wildlife rehabilitation centres across Virginia, US, along with 126 blood samples from six species. This research, recently published in Nature Communications, aimed to track the virus’s presence in animals from both urban and remote areas. The findings are revealing: the virus was detected in deer mice, Virginia opossums, raccoons, groundhogs, Eastern cottontail rabbits and Eastern red bats. Notably, one opossum exhibited viral mutations not previously reported, which could influence human health and immune responses. Exposure rates varied by species, ranging from 40% to 60%. The study also noted a peculiar finding: two mice at the same site on the same day carried identical viral variants, suggesting possible direct transmission between them, or from a common human source! The highest rates of virus exposure were observed in animals near hiking trails and high-traffic areas, indicating that human activity is a significant factor in the spread to wildlife. The exact transmission pathways remain unclear, with possibilities including wastewater or discarded food. However, researchers emphasise that while the virus is spreading to wildlife, there is no evidence of reverse transmission from animals to humans. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112014490" title="Cows are now spreading bird flu to each other — here&amp;#39;s why that&amp;#39;s problematic for humans" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Carla Finkielstein, a professor of biological sciences, describes the virus' behaviour as akin to “a hitchhiker switching rides to a new, more suitable host”. With humans largely protected by vaccines, the virus—with the sole goal of spreading and surviving—is adapting and mutating to thrive in animal hosts. Although this study is limited to Virginia, the species affected are found throughout North America. This means the findings may also be applicable to other countries and continents to a certain extent. Moreover, this research doesn’t just highlight the novel mutations in SARS-CoV-2, but also underscores the broad host range of the virus. Therefore, researchers stress the urgent need for extensive surveillance to monitor the virus' impact on wildlife and its potential implications for vaccine development.

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