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Paloma Canseco has applied to 250 jobs since July. She's tweaked cover letters and filled out long, monotonous forms on different companies' internal <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jobseekers-recruiters-hiring-broken-ai-bots-resumes-interviews-spam-bias-2024-5">job postings</a>. And last week, she got a call back from a recruiter about a graphic-design job. Robin was polite and friendly on the phone, asking Canseco open-ended questions, like, "Tell me about your last project and what you liked about it." But Robin wasn't a person. It was an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-power-list-2024">AI recruiter</a>.Canseco hung up. "This is meant to be a conversation," she tells me. "I'm not going to spend my time with this recruiting company if they don't hire actual recruiters." It takes her half an hour to apply to each job on average, she says, and putting that effort in only to be met with an automated response feels like an insult.Job hunting has never been fun, but the process "feels broken," says Rohan Rajiv, the head of career products at<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/americas-hottest-comedy-club-linkedin-satire-unhinged-ceos-2024-10"> LinkedIn</a>. According to the company's data, job applications are up 20% since last year. It's an intense and frustrating process. And LinkedIn wants to fix the disconnect, in part by fighting AI … with AI.Earlier this year, the company rolled out new AI tools to premium subscribers. People could open a chat window and ask a chatbot whether they were a good fit for a job based on their profile and the job description. Then, this summer, LinkedIn unveiled an update that would use <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-using-ai-bain-survey-roi-2024-6">generative AI</a> to quickly write cover letters based on job descriptions and a user's profile. I tried it and found the results weren't bad — a cover letter may just need a few tweaks or extra personalization before it sounded like me.In the coming weeks, LinkedIn will begin making its AI <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/careerist-corporate-ladder-decline-promotions-work-ethic-american-dream-2024-10">job-matching</a> tools widely available to all users, Rajiv tells me. They can visit any job listing and ask LinkedIn to show how they match up, and generative AI will detail how well they fit the role and break down how a recruiter may evaluate their profile. The hope is that with more transparency, people will apply to fewer jobs — but ones that better fit their qualifications — and stop "swinging at every <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-fintech-reflexivity-pitch-deck-raise-30-million-series-b-2024-10">pitch</a>," Rajiv says, adding: "It's natural to make quantity and volume your friend. But the greater the volume, the tougher the match."The age-old career advice that there's no harm in trying, it turns out, has a limit that we've stretched past the point of insanity. Can LinkedIn save us from hiring hell?Only 30 years ago, most people largely found jobs through their networks, career fairs, and newspaper ads. Monster launched its job board in 1994, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-linkedin-got-weird-work-life-blurred-lines-of-oversharing-2023-9">LinkedIn</a> came around about a decade later. Recruiting software and AI, which seemed like opportunities to streamline the process, have in some ways further complicated the art of landing a good gig. Applicants are asked to fill out long forms that repeat the information already outlined on their résumés and LinkedIn profiles, in what seems like an endurance test of their ever-depleting sanity. Sites like LinkedIn are great for searching tons of relevant job openings in one place, but people can end up overapplying, casting a wide net to roles that might not be the best fit.That's particularly true for some using LinkedIn's Easy Apply feature or generative-AI tools that help them mass-apply. In a ZipRecruiter survey last year, 25% of respondents who had gotten new jobs said they used AI to help them. Following the peak of the pandemic, people were looking to quit and change jobs during the "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quiet-quitting-hustle-culture-coasting-viral-work-debate-2022-9">Great Resignation</a>" at the highest rates since the US Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the data in 2000. That means more people are entering this chaotic job market and dealing with the pain points over and over. All those hopeful (or half-assed) résumés also hit a wall of overwhelmed recruiters. Some use AI to try to reduce the noise. In a Society for Human Resource Management survey of companies that use AI in recruiting, nearly 65% of respondents said they used it for writing job descriptions, 34% said they used it to review and scan résumés, and 33% said they used it to communicate with applicants throughout the process. Other recruiters are wary of the tech because we still don't know enough about how those tools make the decisions they do. And automated human-resources tech has a history of favoring men over women, as well as down-ranking résumés with Black-sounding names or those with employment gaps.The fatigue has fully hit job seekers. This week, in a post that went viral on LinkedIn, Hayley Finegan, an HR professional, posted an "open but picky" banner on her LinkedIn profile, poking fun at the "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-open-to-work-banner-badge-job-pros-cons-2024-9">open to work</a>" LinkedIn banner, which some job seekers see as desperate and cringeworthy. "I've applied for exactly three jobs, and that's because I'm holding out for the right one," she wrote. "I'm not here to take just any job — I'm here for the right role." Capturing the overworked-job-seeker mentality, the post quickly went viral. (Finegan did not respond to a request to be interviewed for this story.)<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-slump-professional-white-collar-jobs-recession-high-salary-2024-4">Job seekers</a> and recruiters are caught in what feels like a never-ending loop. The two may seem pitted against one another, with applicants trying to figure out how to get past the recruiter and get paid, and recruiters working to suss out who's fluffing up their résumé or even lying. Both are increasingly ghosting one another. In reality, they want the same thing: a good job match for the least amount of effort. There may be no perfect number of jobs to apply to: Indeed recommends people apply to about 15 jobs a week, or two to three each day. But the average recruiting time for a job is going up, hitting 44 days in early 2023, the human-capital advisory firm The Josh Bersin Co. found. And there's not enough transparency in what's driving the decision-making.For people who haven't updated their profiles, provided as many details about their skills, or posted to the feed, tools like LinkedIn's may not work as well to fully show their qualifications. But Rajiv says the company's AI tool will synthesize not just a person's highlighted skills but other data, like posts they share to the feed, which can include other skills they have. LinkedIn is also shaking things up on the recruiter side. Starting Tuesday, some recruiters can use the company's hiring assistant, a tool where they upload job descriptions and have generative AI synthesize qualifications for the role and build up a roster of candidates.The best tool for job hunters is speed. They need to see jobs soon after they're posted and apply, and that gives them a better chance than applying for hundreds or thousands of jobs. AI may help notify candidates when the right positions are posted. Find that perfect job quickly "can happen, and increasingly it will as these algorithms get smarter," says Julia Pollak, ZipRecruiter's chief economist. ZipRecruiter also rolled out revamped AI tools to help job seekers find better matches this summer. And earlier this year, Indeed began offering an AI tool to better recommend job candidates to recruiters.Some recruiters say that AI isn't capturing the full picture of candidates. Millie Black, a principal technical recruiter at Techtrust, says she's passionate about AI's potential. But she says she's found that tools like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/another-safety-researcher-is-leaving-openai-2024-10">ChatGPT</a> don't "read between the lines" and overlook some skills that may make a candidate a great fit, even if they aren't the ones directly listed. The same has happened for certain LinkedIn searches, she says. It's something she could figure out because she has in-depth knowledge of the specialized tech jobs she recruits for. When searching for the one person on the planet who can do the role, recruiters still have to pore over résumés.But Black also says she's seen an uptick in fake candidates lately. At times, she's had to ask candidates for identification documentation before even sending them through the process, or prescreen people on video calls "just to see a face," she adds. As she's recruiting for high-paying, US-based jobs that offer remote work, scammers are more common. "My whole job is to beat" down the fakers before they make their way to the hiring managers. She has also learned to add questions to try to weed out less serious applicants. "If you just throw a job up as Easy Apply and don't add pre-screening questions, you get way too many people," she says.Canseco has not yet tried LinkedIn's AI tools because she isn't a premium user, but she could get access to them soon. When she applies for jobs, she often uses LinkedIn and tries to reach the company directly, to stand out. One recruiter at a job she recently applied to told her she was among 3,000 applicants they had received in that week.<a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/amanda-hoover">Amanda Hoover</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider covering the tech industry. She writes about the biggest tech companies and trends.

LinkedIn thinks it has the solution to our hiring crisis

<ul><li><keyword id="20940216" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Synology" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Synology" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Synology">Synology</keyword> has showcased its upcoming enterprise solutions in India.</li><li>The Taiwanese <keyword id="20653112" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="storage-solutions" source="keywords">storage solutions</keyword> provider has revealed its enterprise-level solution blueprint for India.</li><li>The company has announced new GenAI-powered features for its Office Suite.</li></ul> Taiwanese storage solutions provider Synology has launched its new enterprise-level solution blueprint in India at its Synology Solution showcase held in India. The announcement comes as the first enterprise application blueprint in India and is a significant part of the company’s expansion plans in India. Since 2021, the company has recorded a 600% growth in business sector revenue in India, contributing to a total revenue growth of 350%. The company showcased its latest offerings in data protection, storage, and surveillance, emphasizing solutions designed to address the growing demands of modern enterprises. <h2>Synology showcases new products</h2>The company showcased its upcoming products, including the ActiveProtect appliances, which were first<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/synology-introduces-new-products-aimed-at-data-protection-and-scalability/articleshow/110711086.cms"> announced</a> during the company’s Synology Solution Exhibition 2024. The ActiveProtect lineup includes dedicated backup systems that are optimised for rapid deployment and scalability. This backup solution is aimed at simplifying deployment and it can manage up to 2,500 multi-server environments across multiple sites. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111748677" title="Synology bets big on the Indian market amid strong growth, growing demand" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> “The ActiveProtect series focuses on data recovery and immutability, making it a reliable tool for IT professionals to ensure data security. Its multi-site friendly design aligns perfectly with India's business structure,” said Russell Chen, country manager, SAARC Region, Synology. The company also showcased its scale-out storage solutions and advanced surveillance solutions at the event. “Driven by the demand of technology trends, such as AI, IoT, digital transformation, and so on, Synology has performed exceptionally well in the Indian enterprise market, especially in sectors like government, manufacturing, and media and entertainment. Moving forward, we will continue to dedicate ourselves to meeting the modern storage needs of growing enterprises,” said Michael Chang, APAC sales head, Synology. The developing scale-out solution delivers scale-out storage, supporting both file and object storage and performance growth when adding additional storage servers. Synology also introduced its C2 Surveillance Station, which is a cloud-based video surveillance solution with edge AI and multi-layer encryption. The company is enhancing its <keyword id="19999884" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-capabilities" source="keywords">AI capabilities</keyword> with the Synology AI Console, integrating GenAI into the Office Suite. According to the company, this will allow organisations to use the latest large language models (LLMs) while maintaining strict control over data privacy and security. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/diwali-gift-zomato-platform-fee-increased-to-rs-10-ahead-of-the-festive-season/articleshow/114493617.cms">Diwali gift from Zomato – Platform fee increased to ₹10 ahead of the festive season</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/afcons-infrastructure-ipo-gmp-risk-factors-and-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/114490954.cms">Afcons Infrastructure IPO – GMP, risk factors and all you need to know</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/snapdragon-8-elite-announced-to-power-iqoo-13-oneplus-13-xiaomi-15-series-and-more/articleshow/114463844.cms">Snapdragon 8 Elite announced, to power iQOO 13, OnePlus 13, Xiaomi 15 series and more</a>

Synology introduces new enterprise solutions, reports significant growth in India

Climate Action 15: 2024's top global innovators powering green solutions

<ul><li><keyword id="20940216" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Synology" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Synology" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Synology">Synology</keyword> launched several new products at the Synology Solution Exhibition 2024.</li><li>The company has registered double-digit growth in India in the last three years.</li><li>We speak to the company’s <keyword id="22416016" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="joanne-weng" source="keywords">Joanne Weng</keyword> to learn more about the company and its plans in India.</li></ul> Taiwanese <keyword id="20653112" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="storage-solutions" source="keywords">storage solutions</keyword> provider Synology<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/synology-introduces-new-products-aimed-at-data-protection-and-scalability/articleshow/110711086.cms"> introduced</a> several new products aimed at offering <keyword id="20285436" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="data-management" source="keywords">data management</keyword> and protection needs of business organisations at the Synology Solution Exhibition 2024 held in Taiwan. The company announced products such as ActiveProtect, the new GS Series and surveillance solutions at the event. The company also offers Network-attached storage (NAS) devices. Business Insider India spoke with Joanne Weng, Director of International Business, Synology during the event about the company’s operations in India and its future plans. To start, can you tell us about Synology's mission and its recent focus on the Indian market? Synology's mission has always been to simplify IT management, making it accessible for everyone from tech-savvy users to those with minimal technical expertise. Recently, we've been focusing on expanding our presence in India, recognising the country's immense potential as a key market for our solutions. Can you share some insights into Synology's performance in India? Our performance in India has been impressive, with consistent double-digit growth over the past three years. The Indian market is among the top five for Synology in the Asia-Pacific region, reflecting the growing demand for reliable and scalable data storage solutions. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for our products has remained strong, highlighting their relevance in supporting business continuity. How has Synology built its local presence and support in India? We recognise the importance of being present in the market. We've invested in building a dedicated team to look after the Indian market, working closely with local partners to provide on-ground support and consultation. Our strategy of selling through channels ensures that customers can get the help they need from partners familiar with their specific requirements. How does Synology ensure ease of management for its users? Our solutions are designed for easy setup and management, ensuring minimal hassle for users. We focus on user-friendly interfaces and pre-configured settings, making our products accessible for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as well as large enterprises. This approach helps streamline IT management, allowing users to focus on their core business activities. What steps does Synology take to set itself apart in terms of flexibility and scalability? One of our core strengths is the flexibility and scalability of our solutions. As businesses grow, their data storage needs evolve, and Synology offers scalable solutions that can adapt to these increasing demands. This makes us an ideal choice for enterprises experiencing rapid growth, especially with emerging technologies like AI that require robust data management capabilities. Security is a major concern for businesses today. How does Synology address this? Security is a top priority for us. Our solutions come with end-to-end encryption and other advanced security features to protect data. We have a dedicated PSIRT Team that collaborates with global security organisations and ethical hackers to ensure our products remain secure against evolving threats. Additionally, to strengthen our backup solutions, the upcoming ActiveProtect appliances will include features like air-gapping and isolating backup copies in a secure environment to protect against ransomware attacks. How does Synology maintain a customer-centric approach? Customer feedback is extremely valuable to us and drives our continuous improvement efforts. We work with organizations like Gartner for peer reviews to ensure we are meeting customer expectations and delivering high satisfaction levels. This customer-centric approach is a cornerstone of our strategy, ensuring that our products and services evolve in line with user needs. What can we expect from Synology in the future, especially in the Indian market? Looking ahead, we plan to continue focusing on the Indian market, leveraging our robust product portfolio to meet the growing demands of enterprises. Our upcoming products are set to offer even greater scalability and performance, catering to businesses with extensive data management needs. We're excited about the future and are committed to supporting the evolving needs of businesses in India. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/the-biggest-ipos-in-indias-history-lic-to-paytm-companies-that-have-raised-the-most-funds/articleshow/111690863.cms">The biggest IPOs in India’s history – LIC to Paytm, companies that have raised the most funds</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/its-raining-discounts-maruti-suzuki-hyundai-tata-motors-and-others-offer-discounts-on-cars-as-sales-slowdown/articleshow/111688501.cms">It’s raining discounts – Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors and others offer discounts on cars as sales slowdown</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/jio-vs-airtel-vs-vi-prepaid-plans-comparison-plan-benefits-and-price-comparison-after-tariff-hike/articleshow/111512587.cms">Jio vs Airtel vs Vi recharge plans comparison – plan benefits and price comparison after tariff hike</a>

Synology bets big on the Indian market amid strong growth, growing demand

The typical home loan in America is a gift. It's also a trap.Most US homeowners have loans that guarantee they'll pay the same amount each month for decades, regardless of inflation or the shifting winds of the economy. These are called 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, and they offer rare bright spots of certainty in the housing market's endless cycle of booms and busts. Lock in a favorable rate, and you're on the steady track to prosperity.But these sweetheart deals can cause big problems. When mortgage rates shoot up, as they did over the past two years, many would-be sellers decide they don't want to move after all. Sure, a new home could be nice, but trading up would mean parting ways with a cheap mortgage rate. What may have been a welcome change suddenly sounds like a painful, expensive divorce. So they sit tight. A gummed-up housing market is good for nobody: First-time buyers can't find enough homes for sale, and wannabe sellers remain trapped in places that are either too big or too small. This is called the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-market-mortgage-rates-outlook-home-prices-affordability-wealth-gap-2024-3">lock-in effect</a> — and it could linger for decades."Unfortunately, we've known about the lock-in possibility for many, many years," John Campbell, a Harvard economist, told me. "But we didn't fix the roof while the sun was shining, and now it's raining."Economists and housing wonks are obsessed with this uniquely American problem. One estimate suggests the lock-in effect prevented more than 1 million people from selling their homes in the span of just a year and a half, a steep toll considering about 5 million homes exchange hands in a typical year. I used to think of these golden handcuffs as an inevitable side effect of the magical 30-year fixed mortgage. But it doesn't have to be this way. The answer to our problems may lie thousands of miles away … in Denmark.Many homeowners in Denmark, like their American counterparts, enjoy 30-year fixed-rate mortgages. But thanks to a quirk of their housing-finance system, Danish sellers are able to earn a profit when they trade in their low mortgage rates for more-expensive ones, making it easier to move even when rates rise. As a result, the Danes dodge the lock-in effect entirely.Implementing a similar system in the US would require an overhaul of our mortgage market and would almost surely be met with lots of foot-dragging from regulators and investors. But the alternative — twiddling our thumbs until the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-market-ice-age-higher-home-prices-fewer-sales-inventory-2023-5">next Housing Ice Age</a> — is far worse. Maybe it's time we take a page out of the Scandinavian playbook instead.Buyers may remember the pandemic-era housing market for its worst qualities: the bidding wars, the late-night doomscrolling on Zillow, the smug investors bragging on TikTok about how many homes they flipped that month. But regular house hunters scored a pretty good deal in at least one respect: Home loans were outrageously cheap. The typical 30-year mortgage rate plummeted to a record low of about 2.65% in late 2020, according to Freddie Mac. Existing homeowners pounced on the opportunity, too, refinancing their mortgages to get new loans with cheaper rates.As the Federal Reserve began pushing up borrowing rates in the spring of 2022, hoping to reel in rising inflation, mortgage rates went vertical. Rates doubled in less than a year, with the typical rate nearing 8% in October, a 20-year high. Rates have fallen a little since then, but they're still hovering at about 7%. In the grand scheme of things, that's not crazy at all — buyers who bought homes in the early '80s may recall rates closer to 18%. But for buyers and homeowners who got used to rock-bottom rates in the decade after the financial crisis, the reversal was chilling.A recent working paper from the Federal Housing Finance Agency estimated that the lock-in effect prevented 1.3 million home sales between mid-2022 and the end of 2023. The vast majority of US mortgages have fixed rates — about 96% at the end of last year — and 63% of those had rates below 4%. The agency estimated that with rates at about 7%, these homeowners would pay roughly $500 more each month on their mortgage if they got a new rate on a house of the same value. If you do a little convoluted math to figure out what all those extra payments would be worth in today's dollars, it'd be like taking $60,000 and lighting it on fire, according to the FHFA's calculations.Even if rates were to fall to 6% or 5.5%, "you're still going to have people who are not going to move, who are not going to give up their house forever, basically," Will Doerner, an economist at the FHFA and a coauthor of the paper, told me. "It's going to take a heck of a change for them to ever want to get rid of those mortgages."OK, so maybe you're not shedding any tears on behalf of these homeowners sitting on piles of equity and their sweet, sweet mortgage rates. But the lock-in effect warps the entire housing market. Fewer sellers means buyers compete for a smaller pool of available homes, driving up prices and locking out many first-time and low-income buyers. It means many people who want to move — to find a better job, start a family, upgrade, or downsize — don't have that option. A once theoretical hang-up has turned into a massive headache. These golden shackles are a problem only in America. In Canada, the UK, or Australia, you can get a loan with a fixed rate for maybe five or 10 years, but then it'll adjust periodically to match the swings in the economy. Homeowners in these countries may not have to grapple with the same lock-in effect, but their monthly budgets get hit when borrowing rates go up.Then there's Denmark, the only other country in which similar 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are widely available — more than half of Danish borrowers have them. And just as they have in the US, rates for those mortgages have risen sharply. Over the course of 2022, the typical rate for a 30-year mortgage in Denmark climbed by roughly 4 percentage points, the largest jump in 40 years. But Denmark's housing-finance system is almost perfectly designed to shield it from the lock-in effect. And it's all thanks to a bit of financial magic known as covered bonds. I really wish these things had sexier names, because if 30-year-fixed mortgages are gifts to homeowners, then covered bonds are straight-up miracles. Here's how they work: When a bank gives a mortgage to a homebuyer, it creates matching bonds that it sells to investors. The bank gets cash to extend more loans, and the owners of these covered bonds get a steady stream of payments from the people paying back the mortgage. The value of the bonds, and therefore the value of the underlying mortgages, rises and falls like any other asset traded in the financial markets. When borrowing rates for new mortgages go up, the value of bonds tied to older, cheaper mortgages goes down — in the eyes of investors hungry for higher returns, a loan that pays 7% interest is worth more than one that pays only 3%. This does not mean, however, that the value of the actual house has dropped; even if bond investors aren't as keen on the underlying loan, there may be plenty of regular buyers who still want the house. So far, this system of pooling together mortgage bonds and selling them to investors is pretty close to the American way of doing things. The real magic happens later, when it comes time to settle up.When US homeowners pay off their mortgages, they have only one option: pony up the amount left on the loan. But when Danish homeowners pay off their mortgages, they have two choices: pay back the balance of their home loan, same as Americans, or pay the market value, which is the amount their covered bonds would trade for on the open market. If interest rates go up and the value of those bonds falls below the amount remaining on their loan, it becomes cheaper for the Danes to pay off their mortgages.Here's an example in dollars: Let's say the face value of a mortgage, or the amount a homeowner would have to pay to get rid of it, is $500,000. But then interest rates rise by, say, 4 percentage points. In the US, this turn of events would trap many homeowners in their house; they would have to not only pay back the $500,000 but get a new mortgage with higher interest payments. In the Danish model, the same situation could work out in the homeowner's favor. That's because as general interest rates rise, the market value of the covered bonds, and therefore the underlying mortgage, drops. So instead of having to pay back the entire mortgage, the Danish homeowner could go out and buy back matching bonds for, let's say, $400,000. If they sell their home for $700,000, they get to pocket $300,000 instead of only $200,000 (not including pesky fees, of course).This lucky Danish homeowner may have to turn around and buy another home with a higher rate, sure, but the profit from paying back their loan at its market value gives them a buffer to do so. Danes don't even have to sell their house to unlock their savings — they can choose to refinance. In that case, they would have to borrow only $400,000 instead of $500,000 to pay off the original loan. Again, the interest rate on the new loan is higher, but the principal balance is lower, so the monthly payments would stay roughly the same.In essence, Danes reap all the rewards when rates go up and face none of the downside risks when rates fall. Their mortgages are also assumable, which means sellers can hand off their loans to qualifying buyers. As a result, Danish homeowners don't cling to their low-rate mortgages the way Americans do. Their setup "eliminates the lock-in effect," Campbell told me.While the Danish system may seem complex, it's not totally absurd to think we could adopt something similar here. It would take a lot of work: overhauls of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a massive education campaign for consumers, and maybe even an act of Congress. It's not as if you can just wave a wand and grant homeowners permission to start paying back their mortgages at market value — the existing contracts explicitly lay out the repayment terms, and mortgage bonds are bundled together here in a way that makes it impossible to pluck one out of the pool as they do in Denmark.Anything that gives consumers protection from rising interest rates would come at a cost, too. Banks would demand borrowers pay higher interest rates from the start of their loans, Jesper Berg, the former director of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, told me. Danish mortgage rules are stricter in other ways that favor the lender: Borrowers are required to put down 20% of the home's price, and foreclosures are speedy thanks to a more creditor-friendly legal system. But there's still a way forward. There is some precedent for sweeping changes to mortgages — think back to the financial crisis in the mid-2000s, when the government instituted massive programs like HARP to help underwater homeowners refinance their mortgages. It required investor buy-in and lots of rule changes to rework existing loan terms, but it showed a willingness to adapt in dire circumstances.Campbell isn't some starry-eyed dreamer who thinks we can snuff out these issues overnight. Embracing the Danish approach to mortgages would require much bigger changes than the recession-era programs, and mortgage reform tends to move at a glacial pace. But the lock-in effect is the kind of intractable problem that demands big solutions. The Danish model combines the best of the US mortgage market — the stability, the cost savings for homeowners — with consumer protections to ensure they're not held hostage by those same perks. The Danes can move around during times when it would make little financial sense for US borrowers to do so. That's not just good for buyers or sellers or mortgage loan officers — it's good for everyone."I just think it's a more efficient system that will prevent problems for both individual borrowers who get stuck," Campbell told me, "and for the economy as a whole, which suffers when people get locked in."<a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/james-rodriguez">James Rodriguez</a> is a senior reporter on Business Insider's Discourse team.

Denmark has the solution to America's broken housing market 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Researchers have developed a new disease-resistant banana called Yelloway One.</li><li>Yelloway researchers use conventional breeding techniques, not genetic modification.</li></ul>The Netherlands may seem like an unlikely place to grow bananas, but it's where researchers have recently created a brand new variety called Yelloway One.The Yelloway One resembles bananas you might see in a grocery store, but it's anything but. It's the world's first edible banana resistant to two diseases that are decimating the fruit worldwide, and it could change how we grow and buy bananas in the future.In 2020, the global fruit company Chiquita partnered with several other organizations — KeyGene, MusaRadix, and Wageningen University &amp; Research — to launch the Yelloway Initiative, which aims to solve a problem plaguing the banana industry.The Cavendish, the most <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fao.org/markets-and-trade/commodities/bananas/en/">widely exported</a> banana and probably the variety in your kitchen, is in trouble. Deadly fungal diseases are attacking the plants, threatening the fruit with extinction.Researchers hope the Yelloway One is the first step to finding a tasty banana that can fight off these fungi."We're not expecting it to be the production replacement for Cavendish," Peter Stedman, director of sustainability at Chiquita, told Business Insider. "But it is proof that we can get there, and it's proof that we are nearly there."<h2 id="db18e80d-f968-4859-82a6-c20c1f7a8e87">Finding the building blocks of a better banana</h2><div type="image" title="A person holds a test tube full of seeds" height="5304" width="7952" msid="114478351" hostid="261" sizebytes="1388866"></div>The Yelloway project used conventional breeding techniques — not genetic modification — to make its new banana.The tricky part with that process is that researchers can't simply cross the Cavendish with more resilient varieties because the Cavendish is seedless and therefore sterile.Instead, the researchers are looking for the traits in other banana varieties that match a Cavendish's taste and hardiness.To that end, Yelloway is studying the DNA of 150 banana varieties, to make a kind of banana family tree, Fernando García-Bastidas, the head of the banana breeding program at KeyGene, told BI.<div type="image" title="A person in a yellow hat holds a bunch of bananas" height="5165" width="7743" msid="114478348" hostid="261" sizebytes="1223300"></div>They used information about the bananas' disease resistance, color, yield, and other characteristics as a kind of Lego system, García-Bastidas said."We are able to identify the blocks that are required to recreate or improve a particular banana type," he said.They're also using genetic analysis to hunt for Cavendish relatives that they can cross with Yelloway One.<div type="image" title="An airport sign warning travelers not to bring banana materials or soil" height="2533" width="3800" msid="114478354" hostid="261" sizebytes="386426"></div>The Yelloway One is on track to flower and produce bananas, but it's not yet ready to arrive in grocery stores.The next step is to test how it fares in enemy territory. Researchers will grow Yelloway One in the Philippines and Indonesia, where TR4 — a fungal disease — has decimated banana plants.<h2 id="fe3c7f2b-a656-4f65-91eb-953338c9d1f6">Ensuring history doesn't repeat itself a third time</h2><div type="image" title="Wilted banana plants in Colombia" height="3349" width="5527" msid="114478346" hostid="261" sizebytes="3169416"></div>The Cavendish only became the world's most widely eaten banana in the second half of the 20th century. Before that, the Gros Michel variety reigned supreme.But in the 1950s, a fungus called TR1 wiped out the Gros Michel. The Cavendish, which is resistant to the disease, became growers' new go-to fruit.Now that TR4 is spreading, growers and scientists don't want to make the same mistake again of relying on a single banana variety.That's why Yelloway is involved in creating other banana varieties, too."It's not looking to just improve upon the Cavendish," Stedman said. "It's trying to create strength and biodiversity."Li-Jun Ma, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst studying the banana-killing fungi, agrees we shouldn't rely on a single banana variety."We should find ways to enhance the diversity in our market," she told Business Insider.Ultimately, Yelloway researchers envision a future where grocery stores offer multiple banana varieties. There will still be a place for the Cavendish on grocery shelves, but they won't be your only option.

The world's most popular banana faces extinction. Researchers are racing to find a solution.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Nevada is facing skyrocketing housing costs.</li><li>Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve says city leaders should cut regulations that stymie construction.</li></ul>The mayor of Reno, Nevada, argues that the single best thing city leaders can do to help solve one of the country's worst housing shortages is to loosen regulations on housing construction.In recent years, Mayor Hillary Schieve has launched a multi-pronged approach to do just that."Sometimes government needs to get out of the way," she told Business Insider in a recent interview. There's no quick solution, said Schieve, who isn't a member of either major party and has made housing and homelessness a top priority.With the election approaching, Nevada voters <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/16/business/economy/nevada-economy-unemployment-election.html">cite the economy</a> as among their top concerns. Rising home prices and rents, which have hit the Sunbelt state particularly hard, are a big part of that. Since January 2017, home prices have risen 90% and rents are up 53% in Nevada, far outstripping national growth rates, Alex Horowitz, the director of Pew's housing-policy project, told Business Insider.<h2 id="401ef500-7df2-405a-b9eb-f7ead571dd5b">Greasing the wheels for housing</h2>Nevada had one of the highest rates of home foreclosures in the country after the 2008 financial crisis slammed <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://knpr.org/show/knprs-state-of-nevada/2018-09-10/its-been-a-decade-since-nevada-fell-into-an-economic-abyss">its tourism-reliant economy</a> and burst its severe housing bubble. In the years since, the state has leveraged low taxes and other business-friendly policies to attract major employers like Amazon, Apple, and Tesla. The new jobs have helped attract hundreds of thousands of new residents.The pandemic and the rise of remote work supercharged that trend. With an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/housing/how-many-californians-have-moved-to-nevada-since-2020-3032074/">influx of new residents</a>, demand for housing — and subsequently its cost — has soared. In Reno, the median price of a single-family home has increased <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.washoecounty.gov/assessor/real_property/SalesHistoryChart.php">more than 40% since 2019</a>.As mayor, Schieve has celebrated the new jobs and the growth of arts and culture in Reno and its surroundings. But she's also concerned with the housing shortage and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.rgj.com/story/news/local/2024/05/07/homeless-population-washoe-county/73605507007/">rising homelessness</a>. When it comes to boosting affordable housing, she pointed to cutting red tape and making building easier, including by loosening zoning laws and burdensome environmental regulations.Under Schieve, Reno has loosened some of its regulations by allowing for more density, reducing parking requirements, and cutting fees. Since 2019, the city says it has waived $11 million in sewer hookup fees and $700,00 in building permit fees to help bring more than 2,000 units of affordable housing to the market.Through a program called "1,000 homes in 120 days," the city deferred sewer and permit fees for five years for market-rate housing construction, which the city says helped create more than 500 new homes between its implementation in late 2019 and earlier this year.Schieve, the former chairwoman of the US Conference of Mayors, said Reno's rules regarding affordable housing construction are relatively lenient. However, she argued that some county and state regulations slow down home building, inflating costs and deterring new construction.She took particular issue with county health department regulations that impose lengthy review processes. "Most developers are borrowing money," she said. "So time is money." Schieve's chief of staff noted that swimming pool construction, including in housing developments and hotels, "takes an incredible amount of time and an incredible amount of money" to get approved by the department.Reno has also made some progress on emergency and transitional housing. Schieve received <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/reno-nevada-homelessness-solution-674cee2d">national attention</a> for reducing the number of unhoused people living on Reno's streets by nearly 60% between 2022 and 2023. The reduction was largely due to the construction of a Nevada Cares Campus, an emergency shelter that can house up to 600 people in sleeping pods and a large tent.<h2 id="b9ff010c-649b-4677-a22b-3b02162f6584">Nevada's housing issues take center stage in the presidential election</h2>President Joe Biden has visited Nevada multiple times <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://nevadacurrent.com/2024/03/19/in-las-vegas-campaign-stop-biden-details-plans-to-make-housing-more-affordable/">to talk about housing</a>, and his administration's policies have <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://mynews4.com/news/local/reno-receiving-35-million-in-federal-funds-to-tackle-affordable-housing-and-homelessness">helped bolster</a> the state's housing efforts.Schieve called the housing funding Reno received through the 2021 American Rescue Plan a "godsend." And she praised the Biden administration for being accessible and responsive to her city's housing needs. "We can pick up the phone and I can call my HUD secretary, I can call someone at the White House," Schieve said. The acting HUD secretary, Adrianne Todman, has visited Reno twice in the last year.Former President Donald Trump's campaign has also emphasized housing issues in Nevada, focusing largely on its proposal to deport millions of immigrants to free up housing. "We've got to build more houses and we've got to deport the illegal aliens so that American homes go to American citizens," vice presidential candidate JD Vance <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pPCCh_t4h8">told a crowd in Las Vegas in October</a>.Schieve dismissed this proposal. "We've got to be realistic about how we approach housing," she said. "That's not going to solve anything."There are aspects of housing policy that Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris appear to agree on, including <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/homes-free-government-land-real-estate-housing-prices-harris-trump-2024-8">opening up federal land for additional homes</a>. Nevada has become a focus of this particular solution as 85% of the state's land area is owned by the federal government.Schieve says the issue of opening up government-owned land is complex. It depends on factors like the cost of new infrastructure, including roads and water hookups, the expansion of services like law enforcement, and environmental concerns. She supports restricting home construction in environmentally fragile areas, including wetlands and flood-prone regions.In general, she wants to see cities like Reno invest in rebuilding their urban cores and boosting density rather than sprawl."There's still a lot of blight," she said. "There's still a lot of work for cities to build up and not out."

A Nevada mayor is battling one of the worst housing shortages in the US. Her solution: looser construction regulation.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>AWS hired Julia White as its new chief marketing officer, replacing Raejeanne Skillern.</li><li>White previously worked at SAP and Microsoft.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aws-negotiating-huge-cloud-deal-supply-ibm-with-nvidia-gpus-2024-11">Amazon</a> Web Services has a new marketing chief.On Monday, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-nuclear-power-strategy-ai-2024-10">AWS</a>'s CEO <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-matt-garman-aws-ceo-bulldozer-ai-competition-growth-2024-5">Matt Garman</a> told employees that the company has hired former SAP and Microsoft executive Julia White as its new chief marketing officer, according to an internal email obtained by Business Insider.White was most recently the chief marketing and solutions officer at SAP. Before that, she spent almost 20 years at Microsoft in various roles, including corporate vice president for the Azure cloud computing unit.White will replace Raejeanne Skillern, who will be leaving to spend more time with her family, the email said.White is the newest addition to AWS's senior executive group. The company recently added Colleen Aubrey, Amazon's former advertising executive, as SVP of AWS Solutions, and Baskar Sridharan, an ex-Google Cloud VP, as VP of AI/ML services.AWS has also seen a number of executive turnovers in the past year. Most notably, its former CEO, Adam Selipsky <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aws-amazon-adam-selipsky-ceo-steps-down-2024-5">stepped down</a> in May. Matt Wood, VP of AI, also <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ai-executive-leaves-matt-wood-2024-10">left in October</a>.Here's the full email Garman sent to employees on Monday: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.

AWS hires former SAP and Microsoft executive as new marketing chief

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A woman who had life-changing results on a popular weight loss drug struggled to afford it for years.</li><li>She found stability with a cheaper version of the medication through the booming telehealth market.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@tacklingtara">Tara Rothenhoefer</a>, a 49-year-old Florida resident, says her life changed when she joined a clinical trial for a promising new weight-loss medication.Over the course of the 18-month trial, from 2020 to 2021, she <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mounjaro-weight-loss-drug-not-easy-way-out-2023-10">lost more than 200 pounds</a> — more than a third of her body weight. Suddenly, she didn't have pervasive "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/weight-loss-drug-semaglutide-helping-dispel-harmful-stereotypes-patients-say-2022-12">food noise</a>" or preoccupation with eating that had bothered her for years, allowing her to freely pursue healthy habits.Rothenhoefer had been testing a drug, sold by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, which later won FDA approval for weight loss in 2023 under the brand name <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://businessinsider.com/eli-lilly-mounjaro-zepbound-approved-weight-loss-stronger-than-wegovy-2023-11">Zepbound</a>. A similar version of this drug, called Mounjaro, has been available to people with type 2 diabetes since 2022.But when the trial ended, she was faced with the prospect of paying over $1,000 per month to continue this drug, or try to keep the weight off unmedicated — an incredibly tricky feat since the drug's effects are not long-lasting, as far as we know.Now, after three years of navigating a nightmarish maze of shortages and lack of insurance coverage, she finally has steady, affordable access to her medication.She's not only one.The high price of weight-loss medication has left out millions of Americans who could benefit, as highlighted in recent <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/novo-nordisk-ceo-faces-senate-questions-over-high-prices-of-ozempic-and-wegovy-in-us-1033798280">Senate Committee Hearings</a>, where Novo Nordisk's CEO faced tough questions about its versions of similar drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy.Here's how she, like many others, has found a way around the snarls of the healthcare system to stay on the drug.<h2 id="b6ae44a3-53cb-4a2c-8ff1-f68263c11f64">At first, she tried the pharma solution: coupons</h2>After the trial ended, Rothenhoefer's doctor issued her a prescription for Mounjaro but she knew she couldn't afford it with her office job.Not a problem, manufacturer Eli Lilly told her — she could get a coupon, allowing her to access the drug at a steep discount.Providing coupons is a common practice for drug makers to incentivize patients to try their product, instead of a competitor's, especially when it's a new offering in an already-hot and high-priced market.However, the coupon expired in June 2023. And all she could do was ration out her remaining doses and hope for the best."My insurance doesn't cover it. Most people can't afford it. I had no choice," she said.<h2 id="9f175e6c-deef-4bd9-8285-ccf7d1bc03be">Spreading out doses to try to make the drug last longer</h2>Rothenhoefer did what she could to make her supply of medication last, and tried to dose every 10 to 14 days instead of weekly, but the scale began creeping back up regardless of what she did."I was having a lot of fluctuations in weight even though my habits were the same," she said.Research suggests that people who lose weight on GLP-1 medications need to continue taking them or they'll <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zepbound-weight-gain-stop-taking-tirzepatide-2023-12">regain the weight</a> so Rothenhoefer needed a long-term plan just to keep her weight stable."I'm in maintenance, which I'll be in for the rest of my life," she said.But she's since been able to find a steady, affordable supply, and now takes a dose of 7.5 - 10 mg of compounded tirzepatide weekly, delivered to her door, and plans to stay this course for at least the next year, if not longer.<h2 id="86a425c0-21ca-447d-a94f-5bc79360d4e5">The promise of cheaper 'compounded drugs'</h2>Rothenhoefer said she had heard about a cheaper version of the GLP-1s known as compounded tirzepatide.The active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound is tirzepatide, one type of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/weight-loss-glp-1-drugs-ozempic-wegovy-mounjaro-effects-future-2023-12">GLP-1 drugs</a>, which mimic hormones that our bodies naturally produce to control appetite and blood sugar. (Ozempic and Wegovy contain a similar drug called <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-weight-loss-meds-injections-compare-costs-results-side-effects">semaglutide</a>.)<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-compounded-semaglutide-online-risks-wegovy-ozempic-2023-1">Compounded medications</a> are custom formulations of drugs provide by specialized pharmacies. Since brand name GLP-1 drugs have long been in shortage, drug compounders are legally allowed to fill the gap in demand with their own versions of the same active ingredients, semaglutide or tirzepatide.While regulated, these compounded drugs aren't FDA-approved, raising concerns from doctors about variations in quality.The grey market of weight-loss drugs is vast and complicated.Some weight-loss clinics or med spas offer injections for as little as $20, with way of vetting what you're getting, and some online clinics are simply money scams, a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scientist-cheaper-ozempic-sold-online-contains-dangerous-ingredients-2024-8">recent study found</a>.Rothenhoefer contacted a telehealth company with a verified, credentialed compounding pharmacy.The price for her dose of the compounded version is $329 monthly, compared to the brand name's list price of more than $1,000 per month.Pharmaceutical companies are pushing back against their low-cost competitors in the GLP-1 market.In August, Eli Lilly halved the price of its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/eli-lilly-cut-price-zepbound-tirzepatide-weight-loss-drug-copycats-2024-8">weight-loss drug Zepbound </a>through single-dose vials — a bid to lure customers back to brand-name drugs, analysts said.But Rothenhoefer said that if manufacturers want people to buy their products, prices need to keep dropping."I think everyone would be on the branded if it were accessible and affordable. But there are people out there that are alive now that might not have been or might have been in five years if they didn't get their health under control," she said of patients like her who are now using compounded medications.<h2 id="bc1e401f-b010-4062-a1c7-ffc442cacc15">A huge relief</h2>Previously, Rothenhoefer said she was constantly worried about protecting the dwindling stockpile of medication in her refrigerator.Now, with reliable access, a huge burden has been lifted, Rothenhoefer said. She is no longer fixated on rushing to get ice in a cooler for her meds as a first priority, and is free to think about everything else that matters."I don't have any fear at all anymore," she said. "My mind has been totally put at ease and I can now focus on the rest of my life."

Weight-loss drugs are life-changing — and expensive. Here's one woman's solution.

<ul><li>The combined market cap of Adani Group companies eroded by over ₹2.45 lakh crore.</li><li>This comes amid a US probe into Gautam Adani into an alleged bribe charge.</li><li>Adani has been charged over his role in an alleged scheme to pay a $250 million bribe to Indian officials.</li></ul><keyword id="20046345" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adani-Group-stocks" source="keywords">Adani group stocks</keyword> faced heavy drubbing during the morning trade on Thursday, with the combined market valuation of all the listed firms getting eroded by ₹2.45 lakh crore, as billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors. Adani has been charged over his role in an alleged years-long scheme to pay a $250 million bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts. The stock of the group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises plunged 22.99%, Adani Ports dived 20%, Adani Energy Solutions tanked 20%, Adani Green Energy plummeted 19.53% and Adani Total Gas tumbled 18.14% on the BSE. Shares of Adani Power slumped 17.79%, Ambuja Cements cracked 17.59%, ACC fell 14.54%, NDTV dropped 14.37% and Adani Wilmar declined 10%. Some of the group firms also hit their lowest trading permissible limit or lower circuit for the day. The combined market capitalisation (mcap) of all the ten listed group firms eroded by ₹2,45,016.51 crore during the morning deals. In the equity market, the BSE benchmark Sensex traded 536.89 points lower at 77,041.49 and the NSE Nifty quoted 186.75 points down at 23,331.75. US prosecutors charged Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar and other defendants for paying over $250 million in bribes between 2020 and 2024 to Indian government officials to win solar energy contracts on terms that could potentially bring in more than $2 billion in profit. This, they alleged, was concealed from the US banks and investors from whom the Adani group raised billions of dollars for the project. The complaint charges them with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer and director bars. US law allows pursuing foreign corruption allegations if they involve certain links to American investors or markets. The Adani group did not immediately respond to requests for comments. "The defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars," Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, which brought the case, said in a statement. Adani, chairman of the ports-to-energy Adani Group, his nephew Sagar R Adani, who is an executive director at the conglomerate's renewable energy arm Adani Green Energy Ltd, and its former CEO Vneet Jaain were charged with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. The Department of Justice alleged that on several occasions, Adani personally met with an Indian government official to advance the bribery scheme, and the defendants held in-person meetings with each other to discuss aspects of its execution. With inputs from agencies. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/redmi-a4-5g-with-120hz-display-launched-starting-at-8499/articleshow/115479469.cms">Redmi A4 5G with 120Hz display launched starting at ₹8,499</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/android-16-developer-preview-announced-new-features-timeline-and-everything-you-need-to-know/articleshow/115476441.cms">Android 16 Developer Preview announced – new features, timeline and everything you need to know</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indian-wearables-market-declines-20-7-in-q3-2024-smartwatch-and-earwear-categories-struggle/articleshow/115447720.cms">Indian wearables market declines 20.7% in Q3 2024, smartwatch and earwear categories struggle</a>

Adani group stocks' combined market cap erodes by ₹2.45 lakh crore, Adani Enterprises tanks 23%

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.</li></ul>Welcome back, and happy birthday to Insider Today 2.0! Today marks one year since we relaunched. Whether you've been here from the beginning or joined along the way, we appreciate the support. OK, that's enough self-congratulating.In today's big story, why LinkedIn's #opentowork banner <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-open-to-work-banner-badge-job-pros-cons-2024-9">is so controversial</a>.What's on deck:<ul><li>Markets: He used to be one of Tesla's biggest fans. Now, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-stock-crash-tsla-price-outlook-ross-gerber-2024-8">he's a huge critic</a>.</li><li>Tech: Nvidia's <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nvidia-may-lose-ai-inference-market-groq-cerebras-2024-8">biggest blind spot</a>.</li><li>Business: How people are making the most of their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-card-rewards-points-amex-millennial-gen-z-luxury-lifestyle-2024-8">credit card rewards</a>.</li></ul>But first, I'm low-key looking for a job.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">Not open to being open</h2><div type="image" title="A figure hiding shamefully from pointer cursors" height="1500" width="2000" msid="113031425" hostid="261" sizebytes="113168"></div>One of the biggest debates on the internet has nothing to do with politics, the market, or sports. Instead, it's about your LinkedIn profile picture.The argument focuses on the benefits or downsides of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-open-to-work-banner-badge-job-pros-cons-2024-9">using the Open to Work banner on LinkedIn after losing your job</a>.That last sentence alone might have elicited an internal reaction from some of you. Like it or not, the banner is viewed by some as "the digital-age equivalent of standing on the sidewalk wearing a sandwich board that reads Job Wanted," writes Business Insider's Aki Ito.And besides the shame job seekers might feel, some people believe the banner comes with a risk. Touting that you are #opentowork could actually discourage recruiters from reaching out, so the thinking goes. Welcome to the internet in 2024.The result is a "bizarre" environment: One where job seekers worry that showing you're looking for work will actually make it harder to get a job, a source told Aki."Saying 'we can't hire you because you said you want a job' is like saying 'we can't feed you because you said you're hungry.'"<div type="image" title="A ball and chain with an open cuff labeled &quot;#openforwork&quot;" height="1500" width="2000" msid="113031419" hostid="261" sizebytes="125414"></div>Not everyone is scared of the banner.About 40 million users signaled they were #opentowork in July. And for good reason.Only one of the eight recruiters Aki spoke to said the banner would give them pause when looking at a candidate. Several even said they actively seek out candidates who publicize that they're open to work.But the #opentowork hesitation could be more about our personal biases than what recruiters might think. The negative reaction to the banner, while not fair, is understandable.For many, #opentowork represents our corporate mortality. A little ugly reminder that we could be next on the chopping block.None of that, however, should stop someone from using every tool in their arsenal to get a job.And even if you still feel embarrassed about using the banner, rest assured there's plenty of stuff people should be hesitant to post.LinkedIn has gotten incredibly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-linkedin-got-weird-work-life-blurred-lines-of-oversharing-2023-9">weird since the pandemic</a>. People are comfortable oversharing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-cringe-how-to-post-new-job-hiring-resume-2024-3">intimate details on what's meant to be a professional network</a>. In some cases, they've even <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-is-a-dating-app-remote-work-online-romance-2024-1">used it as a place to find a date</a>.<h3 id="77f31a4c-8462-4e3d-a71f-838cb79493fb">News brief</h3><h2 id="1fcd294b-3f53-425f-9f20-4093e8623b59">Top headlines</h2><ul><li>Hewlett Packard confirms it will continue to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hp-confirmed-will-continue-sue-mike-lynch-family-2024-9">sue Mike Lynch's family for $4 billion</a> after he died in a tragic yacht sinking.</li><li>Elon Musk thinks he knows <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-x-feed-more-toxic-forward-posts-puppies-2024-9">why your X feed might be getting more toxic</a>.</li><li>Chip companies like Nvidia and Intel are facing a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chip-companies-nvidia-intel-gender-gap-ai-boom-2024-8">major gender gap amid the AI boom</a>.</li><li>Why everyone in tech is talking about '<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-everyone-in-tech-talking-founder-mode-paul-graham-chesky-2024-9">founder mode</a>.'</li><li>A grocery tycoon turned Walmart robotics supplier is one of this year's biggest wealth losers after <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-robotics-grocery-rick-cohen-symbotic-wealth-billionaires-walmart-stock-2024-9">$9 billion wipeout</a>.</li></ul><h2 id="8120060b-ae66-48dc-b149-f0489a30ffa2">3 things in markets</h2><div type="image" title="A price tag with the American flag on it" height="1000" width="2000" msid="113031418" hostid="261" sizebytes="69334"></div><ol><li>The stock-half-full view. Americans who own stocks generally <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-outlook-impact-economic-sentiment-spread-owners-non-owners-2024-9">feel much better about the economy</a> than Americans who don't. The gap between the top one-third of stock owners and those who don't own any stocks has never been wider, and those who feel good have reason to — the S&amp;P 500 has soared nearly 50% in the past two years.</li><li>Blackstone's using generative AI to supercharge an internal search tool. The PE giant's DocAI acts like an internal ChatGPT thanks to the trove of documents uploaded by workers. The tool, which will be fully rolled out this fall, is designed to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackstone-employee-productivity-generative-ai-2024-8">help workers search and summarize more efficiently</a>.</li><li>How one of Tesla's biggest bulls turned bearish. Ross Gerber, a longtime supporter of Elon Musk, has shed around half of his fund's stake in Tesla since November 2023. He spoke to BI about <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-stock-crash-tsla-price-outlook-ross-gerber-2024-8">why he's done a 180 on the EV maker and its polarizing CEO</a>.</li></ol><h2 id="f4b54806-7f81-450c-ba32-92560d4fae9b">3 things in tech</h2><div type="image" title="Sam Altman is surrounded by logos of competing AI companies." height="900" width="1800" msid="113031421" hostid="261" sizebytes="200156"></div><ol><li>It's getting harder to make big leaps at the frontier of AI. There are a lot of capable AI models now, and they're all pretty similar to each other, which has pushed costs down. Now that the AI frontier has become "a commodity," as one startup CEO put it, there will be <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-frontier-crowded-winners-losers-2024-8">huge winners and losers in the space</a>.</li><li>Nvidia's got some competition. The chip giant's dominance isn't certain in one particular area of AI computing: inference. Demand for inference chips will only increase as AI matures, and the field is growing <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nvidia-may-lose-ai-inference-market-groq-cerebras-2024-8">crowded with formidable competitors</a>, like the ex-Googler-founded Groq and the California powerhouse Cerebras.</li><li>Supersized seed rounds shake up VC. The earliest stage of the startup market is getting out of control. As investors rush to fund the next big startup, the amount they're willing to pledge upfront has ballooned in the past three years. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/seed-stage-investing-funding-venture-capital-getting-wild-2024-8">$5 million-plus seed round</a> might be the new normal.</li></ol><h2 id="9260fa45-d397-4b3c-b4f8-4bb193976216">3 things in business</h2><div type="image" title="Photo illustration of a credit card." height="1500" width="2000" msid="113031426" hostid="261" sizebytes="76120"></div><ol><li>Welcome to credit card points mania. Credit card rewards are having a moment thanks to great perks, points, and cashback deals. Gen Zers explained the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-card-rewards-points-amex-millennial-gen-z-luxury-lifestyle-2024-8">mix of cards they use</a> to level up their rewards and live a life of more luxury. (Rule number one: Stay out of debt.)</li><li>Meet the quiet luxury millionaires. Not all millionaires have flashy homes and cars. Six wealthy-on-the-DL people told BI their strategies for growing and keeping wealth that are at odds with a loud-luxury lifestyle. Here's how they <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millionaire-investing-saving-spending-financial-independence-retire-early-fire-2024-9">build wealth modestly</a> without sacrificing comfort.</li><li>The most promising healthcare AI startups, according to VCs. AI is dominating healthcare investments this year as VC funding picks back up after a slump. BI spoke to leading VCs to identify <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/22-most-promising-healthcare-ai-startups-2024-8">22 companies using AI</a> to improve cardiovascular care, insurance payments, and more.</li></ol><h2 id="1ad7b482-3f4b-44b4-81b6-a864aa386478">In other news</h2><ul><li>Take a look inside the LA home Elon Musk is foreclosing on, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pictures-los-angeles-home-elon-musk-foreclosing-gene-wilder-belair-2024-8">which once belonged to Hollywood royalty</a>.</li><li>Mercer advises institutions with more than $16 trillion in assets. Here's what its top investment strategist is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mercer-advice-institutional-clients-invest-private-credit-2024-8">telling the world's biggest investors</a>.</li><li>These 2024 status symbols show that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/status-symbol-item-sales-show-quiet-luxury-changing-americana-corporate-2024-9">it's not all about quiet luxury anymore</a>.</li><li>Investors are headed into the worst time of year for stocks. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-outlook-september-season-fed-cuts-election-investing-2024-8">Here's why September is brutal for the market</a>.</li><li>A US Army vet moved to Japan with his wife and bought an abandoned house for $35,000. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-veteran-moved-japan-abandoned-house-akiya-foreigner-renovation-2024-9">They have no plans to leave</a>.</li><li>Wasteful consumerism has a new worst enemy: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-alphas-new-obsession-decluttering-2024-9">Gen Alpha tweens</a>.</li></ul><h2 id="9f5d80ac-3466-429f-a50a-2ffbb70c65ff">What's happening today</h2><ul><li>Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's memoir is released.</li><li>Russian president Vladimir Putin visits Mongolia.</li></ul>The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, associate editor, in Chicago. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.

Linkedin's job-seeking solution comes with both success and shame

In an era where customer experience is a primary business differentiator, the role of service hubs has evolved from merely answering calls to becoming innovation centers. With the infusion of advanced technologies like <keyword id="107950" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence" source="Orion">Artificial Intelligence</keyword> (<keyword id="6355999" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI" source="Orion">AI</keyword>) and Generative AI (Gen-AI), the service hub industry is now undergoing a transformation that promises to redefine customer interactions, according to experts. “The nature of the industry will change. I think even calling it <keyword id="19945906" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="customer-service" source="keywords">customer service</keyword> or service industry may be a very different outlook 5 years from now,” said Sameer Bapat, SVP and COO of Cognizant IOA, during a panel discussion on “Revolutionsing Customer Experience Innovating Service Hubs Through Technology,” hosted by Business Insider India. Leaders in the industry believe that India is entering the golden age of customer service, one powered by data-driven insights, AI-driven empathy, and evolving human-machine collaboration. “The net amount of venture capital and private equity capital that you’re going to see in the customer service industry going forward is going to 5-10x of what it has been in the last 5 years,” predicted panelist Vijay Narsapur, SVP and Business Head of Infosys BPM. <div type="Youtube" id="E23CeECUh9A" title="Revolutionizing Customer Experience: Innovating Service Hubs Through Technology" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/E23CeECUh9A/mqdefault.jpg"><url><![CDATA[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E23CeECUh9A]]></url></div> <h2>The evolution of service hubs: More than customer service</h2>No longer just centers for addressing customer complaints or technical issues, today’s service hubs are integrating innovative technologies to become the nerve center of business operations. According to Sanjay Kukreja, Global Technology Head at Eclerx, tools like data engineering and cloud computing have shifted customer service into real-time interactions, allowing businesses to assist customers faster and more efficiently than ever before. For Narsapur, service hubs are now the lifeblood of the business process management (BPM) industry. End customers have become increasingly comfortable interacting with AI and automated systems. However, they still crave human connection, especially when complex or emotionally charged issues arise. Narsapur points out that this blending of technology and human touch is crucial for refining the customer journey. As businesses scale, service hubs are expected to balance these elements more tightly to deliver both efficiency and empathy. <h2>AI and Gen-AI: Disruptors or Enhancers?</h2>Arguably, the most significant driver of change in the service hub industry has been the integration of AI and Gen-AI. Bapat explains that these technologies have transformed how service hubs operate. Automation tools have led to productivity gains ranging between 20% to 60%, primarily by streamlining mundane tasks, improving scalability, and delivering more personalized customer interactions. This isn’t just an incremental improvement—it’s a deep, domain-led transformation of how companies interact with their customers. But, as Abhinandan Jain, Chief Growth Officer at Startek, notes, AI doesn’t just enhance efficiency—it also amplifies empathy. Service hubs are learning how to use AI as an "empathy amplifier," where AI-driven systems handle routine queries, and human agents step in for more complex, emotionally charged interactions. This helps agents focus on delivering the high-touch experiences customers expect when they escalate an issue to a real person. While there has been some anxiety surrounding AI replacing jobs, the experts argue that this technology will instead create more high-value roles. ““There is going to be an increase of anywhere between 2x to 5x in the number of jobs that are going to be created in this particular industry,” said Narsapur. For example, there will be an increasing demand for professionals skilled in data science, machine learning, and algorithm management to maintain and improve AI systems. According to a <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/generative-ai-and-the-future-of-work-in-america">McKinsey</a> report, AI will automate 25-30% of jobs in customer service, but the technology will also create new roles in AI supervision, data analysis, and customer experience management. <h2>Data-driven insights and the role of <keyword id="23232621" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="CRM-tools" source="keywords">CRM tools</keyword></h2>One of the most promising developments in the service hub sector is the increasing reliance on data to drive customer interactions. Jain explains that service hubs are now equipped with sophisticated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools that can mine both structured and unstructured data, enabling companies to gain a holistic view of customer behavior. This level of insight allows businesses to not only address customer queries more efficiently but also predict future needs, making the customer journey more proactive than reactive. These CRM platforms are evolving, too. Narsapur notes that many service hubs, particularly in industries like banking and telecom, now use platforms that integrate various aspects of customer interaction, from onboarding to relationship management. These platforms provide a unified view of customer interactions, allowing agents to access the information they need quickly, which ultimately drives faster resolution times and higher customer satisfaction. A <a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-01-12-gartner-predicts-80--of-customer-service-organization">Gartner</a> study revealed that by 2025, 80% of customer service interactions will be handled by AI and CRM systems, up from 52% in 2020. <h2>The economic impact of AI on service hubs</h2>The rise of AI and Gen-AI is also fueling an economic boom in the service hub sector. Jain predicts that the influx of venture capital and private equity in AI research for customer service hubs will increase five- to ten-fold in the coming years. This investment is primarily driven by the need for businesses to remain competitive in an increasingly tech-driven market. The economic growth potential is massive, especially in regions like India, where the talent pool for AI and data science is unmatched. Kukreja echoes this sentiment, noting that India’s service hubs are well-positioned to lead this transformation due to their depth of talent in areas such as data engineering, mathematics, and AI development. This gives Indian service hubs a competitive edge as companies look to scale their customer service operations with tech-driven solutions. Global spending on Gen-AI is expected to reach $26 billion by 2027, with Japan and India set to become the most rapidly expanding markets in the forthcoming years, according to <a href="https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prAP52048824">IDC</a>. <h2>What lies ahead for service hubs?</h2>As we look to the future, the role of service hubs will likely expand even further. Narsapur warns that while platforms and AI will drive efficiency, businesses should not rely solely on technology. Competitive advantage will come from the integration of human expertise, technology, and industry-specific solutions. Different sectors, such as banking, telecom, and retail, each have unique needs that service hubs must adapt to in order to provide effective, personalized customer experiences. AI will play a central role in this transformation. But as Jain points out, it won’t replace human agents entirely. Instead, it will coexist with them, moving people up the value chain to focus on higher-value tasks. AI will handle the routine, while humans will step in where emotional intelligence and complex problem-solving are required. In the end, the future of service hubs is not just about technology; it’s about blending tech and humanity in a way that elevates customer experiences to new heights. We are at the dawn of a new era for customer service hubs. The infusion of AI and Gen-AI, along with data-driven insights and sophisticated CRM tools, is transforming the industry from the ground up. Far from being a threat to jobs, AI will create new opportunities, leading to a more dynamic, efficient, and empathetic customer experience. With significant economic growth on the horizon, particularly in regions like India, the service hub industry is set to play a pivotal role in the future of business. The golden age of customer service is here, and the best is yet to come. This article is part of a four-part webinar series in partnership with nasscom. These monthly webinars aim to delve deep and offer insights into the evolving BPM landscape. You can watch the full video of the second session <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E23CeECUh9A">here</a>. Disclaimer: This article is generated and published by the Insider Studios team. You can get in touch with them on insiderstudios@businessinsider.in

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