Author: Editor

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ruth Olinger, 70, who is raising her grandson on her own in Lakeland, Florida. Olinger had earlier fostered dozens of children and did mission work. Now, Olinger said she can’t retire and paid over $10,000 for her son’s day care. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.I was raised by my grandparents. My grandmother had rheumatoid arthritis, so my grandfather did the cooking and cleaning. She was bedridden for 16 years, and I would take care of her. He had a stroke one day, and he was never the…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Chrysten Crockett, a Cleveland native who moved from Atlanta to Panama City. Crockett, 36, owns a content marketing agency that she now runs from Panama. The following has been edited for length and clarity.I have no kids and I am not married, so I decided to take a leap and travel. I was like, “Let me try this travel thing out while I can.”I’ve always been nomadic in a way; I went from Ohio to New York to Charlotte to Atlanta. Then I thought, let’s try out another country this time.…

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby speaks during a media event showcasing the airline’s new premium “Elevated” aircraft interior at Los Angeles International Airport, March 24, 2026.Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty ImagesNEWARK, New Jersey — Scott Kirby says he doesn’t believe in revenge.”Everyone thinks I do, but no, I don’t,” said the United Airlines CEO, whom American Airlines fired 10 years ago, when he was president of that carrier. “I compete aggressively.” United announced it had hired him as president on Aug. 29, 2016, a blink after American disclosed his departure. Now, Kirby is running the second-most profitable U.S.…

A Boeing 737 MAX 10 fuselage is pictured during the opening ceremony for the company’s new North Line assembly line, which will produce 737 MAX aircraft, at the Boeing Everett Factory in Everett, Washington, on July 10, 2026. Jason Redmond | Afp | Getty ImagesIn August 2018, the then-president and now CEO of United Airlines Scott Kirby told a room of reporters at an aviation conference in Denver about the airline’s big plans for the new Boeing 737 Max 10: lie-flat, premium seats and a host of profitable, transcontinental routes.The plane was supposed to start flying in 2020.Hundreds of those…

Charles Scharf, chief executive officer of Wells Fargo & Co., and Jane Fraser, chief executive officer of Citigroup Inc.Caroline Brehman | Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesWalk the halls of any major banking conference or listen in on a quarterly earnings call, and one topic keeps coming up: With the window for mergers wide open under the Trump administration, who will take a swing?After years on the sidelines because of regulatory restrictions, large banks can once again contemplate buying other lenders, even a $100 billion-plus-asset regional bank.While JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America are barred from such a deal…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bryan Reed, a 24-year-old startup founder based in New York City. It’s been edited for length and clarity.I was burning out this spring. In July of 2025, my cofounder and I created Freeport Markets, a trading app that lets people trade international stocks 24/7. As a cofounder, I spent my days grinding, eating, staying up late, and doing it all again the next day. I was unhappy with my routine and working mostly alone, because my cofounder and I handle separate tasks and I only work with our engineer occasionally.This summer…

Splitting the differenceMost people settle their taxes in April. I used to do a bit of accounting every Sunday morning.My weekly routine wasn’t with the IRS. Instead, I’d settle up with a hodgepodge of friends I crossed paths with over the weekend. From Uber rides to rounds of drinks to late-night takeout, there was always some combination of debits and credits that needed sorting out through bleary eyes and a throbbing headache.It’s been a while since I played that game. (Two kids, a move to the suburbs, and being on the wrong side of 30 will do that to you.)…

Shane Arthur, an executive coach in Raleigh, North Carolina, advises clients to avoid working on Sundays — and to start their workweeks by avoiding meetings on Monday mornings. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.I believe in startup and shutdown routines for your week. On Monday mornings, I get my coffee, my journal, and my laptop. I take it slow and build my way into my week. It takes two to three hours.Working on Sundays is something I’ve seen people talking about on LinkedIn, as in, “This is how to make your week work.” The idea is that…

Consumers are trying to save money — just not on $30 delivery burritos.DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart all posted strong sales growth in their quarterly results earlier this month, showing that consumers are still willing to shell out for groceries and restaurant food delivered to their homes.Diners’ willingness to pay extra for delivery has even surprised DoorDash CEO Tony Xu.That growth comes as shoppers and diners overall are more cautious about spending. This week, Walmart posted its slowest quarterly comparable sales growth since 2020, and US retail sales dropped 0.6% in July, well below the expected 0.1% increase. Some diners…

Phillip Grant is feeling optimistic. He thinks he’s the best man to operate Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s city-run supermarkets. Along with being a former city economic development executive and construction entrepreneur, he’s a New Yorker who’s shocked that an orange costs $2 at his local gas station.We’re walking the perimeter of a vacant city-owned lot in East Harlem. It’s the future spot for La Marqueta, one of five planned stores set to open by the end of Mamdani’s first term — all of which will offer a 30% discount on core goods like fruit, vegetables, and dairy. It’s also the most…