Author: Editor

Small businesses are offering retirement plans a lot more often than they used to, and white-collar workers are benefiting the most.Nich Tremper, senior economist at payroll and benefits platform Gusto, said over 5 million more small-business workers had access to retirement plans than in 2019. He said in a post that “industries that have historically not offered 401(k)s are now doing so more often.” For instance, the share in the hospitality sector climbed from 4% in 2019 to 12% in 2026.Public administration, professional services, and finance had the highest shares of businesses offering plans among 18 sectors, with public administration,…

This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with Robin Thurston, the 54-year-old founder and CEO of Outside Interactive, based in Boulder, Colorado. The following has been edited for length and clarity.I grew up in Colorado, and I’ve been in the outdoor space for a long time.I was a cyclist when I was young, grew up through the national team system, and then raced in Europe for four years. I still ride my bike 7,000 to 10,000 miles a year.I tell the story about how my dad, in 1979, threw an Outside Magazine at me and said, “We’re going…

When much of the city of Gary, Indiana, lost power after a devastating storm last week, Jimmy Hendricks didn’t wait for the power to come back on at his iconic restaurant, Koney King. Instead, he went out and bought a $1,300 generator that same day.In the days that followed, he’d wake up in the middle of the night to fill gas cans to power the generator because the gas station lines were too long during the day. He managed to keep his restaurant open during its usual business hours despite the lack of power.His quick thinking paid off. Koney King,…

It’s a question as old as the industry itself: What does a consultant actually do?Traditionally, consultants have acted as an external support system, called in to crunch the numbers, trim head count, or identify growth opportunities.Now, AI is reshaping what clients want from consultants and how work gets done, creating a new job profile that blurs the lines between tech and consulting.Instead of generalist teams producing research and strategy decks, consultants are increasingly expected to provide something tangible: tools, systems, and holistic, ongoing support. The big firms aren’t only advising on tech strategy, they’re building and implementing it, often through…

Tung Tung Sahur, one of the world’s best-known “Italian brainrot” characters, was created using seven prompts in an AI image generator. A legal battle is underway to determine who, if anyone, can claim ownership. AFP via Getty Images/Collage by Emily Bogle/NPR hide caption toggle caption AFP via Getty Images/Collage by Emily Bogle/NPR Around the world, kids are going crazy for a set of characters collectively known as “Italian brainrot.” These memes are generated using artificial intelligence, and they’re appearing on social media and YouTube, as well as in video games. Now their popularity has sparked a fight over who, if…

Disney is joining other big-name companies in curbing employee benefits, a move that comes as healthcare costs rise.Starting next year, the entertainment giant will no longer offer medical insurance plans to US employees’ spouses if their spouses have jobs that provide such coverage, a Disney spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider. Employees’ other dependents won’t be impacted.”Like a growing number of large employers, we’re making measured adjustments to our employee benefits in response to rising healthcare costs nationwide,” the company said in a statement.The policy change at Disney, which doesn’t apply to dental or vision benefits for workers’ spouses, was first…

Uber once sold riders on a simple promise: Order a car right from your phone for less than a taxi.One major change happened behind the scenes: up-front pricing. Instead of relying on a predictable rate based largely on time and distance, Uber now uses algorithms and a range of real-time factors to determine what riders pay and what drivers earn.Since then, prices have risen dramatically. From 2018 to 2022, average Uber fares in the US rose 83%, nearly four times the annual rate of inflation. And when Business Insider employees requested the same UberX ride at the same time, the…

Devoted Health is the latest startup to show that combining health and AI commands a premium valuation.Just months after announcing a new round of funding, the Medicare Advantage startup is in talks to raise another round that could value the company at $25 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.That’s a jump from the company’s $16 billion valuation in a funding round raised earlier this year, according to sources.Devoted Health, which is based in Waltham, Massachusetts, was founded in 2017 by brothers and former healthcare executives Ed and Todd Park. The startup combines health insurance and medical care for…

President Trump displays a rendering of his proposed $250 million White House ballroom on Oct. 22, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images The Supreme Court ruled Friday that President Trump can — for now — move forward with construction of his ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House without needing approval from Congress. The new ballroom is estimated to cost taxpayers at least $300 million despite the president saying repeatedly that taxpayers would not foot the bill. The ruling comes after months of back and forth…

Ken Griffin says his hedge fund has de-risked the majority of the Situational Awareness portfolio it acquired, according to a letter to investors obtained by Business Insider.The Citadel boss updated clients on the performance of Citadel Wellington Fund, the firm’s flagship multi-strategy fund that purchased a large portion of Situational Awareness’s investments last month as the AI hedge fund imploded.The transaction strengthened Situation Awareness’s balance sheet and helped “mitigate the risk of a tail event,” Griffin wrote, later adding that the firm had removed around 80% of the risk from the investments it purchased.”We have successfully shed more than 80%…