Author: Editor

President Donald Trump is cutting more checks as the midterms approach — this time for some older Americans enrolled in Medicare.Trump announced his administration will give $90 each to 20 million of the more than 60 million people enrolled in Medicare Part B, which covers things like doctor’s visits. A White House fact sheet said the checks would arrive by “early October.”The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B is about $203, meaning the checks would cover almost half of one month’s payment. The White House said Part B enrollees whose premiums are already paid by Medicaid or who pay…

A view of the Hollywood sign, in Hollywood, California, Sept. 30, 2025.Mario Tama | Getty ImagesAt the Toronto International Film Festival last month, audiences saw “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo return to the big screen for her newest movie, “Prima Facie.”Behind the scenes, there was a notable difference. While “Wicked” was a massive Universal undertaking, Erivo’s new movie was produced in part by Camelback Productions, a smaller Hollywood venture aiming to fund independent film, according to CEO Anita Verma-Lallian. She’s one of many private investors who are betting big on Hollywood as the moviegoing landscape shifts and a handful of indie…

Bill Gross says he made the best investment of his career only a few years ago, while his worst investing error dates back nearly six decades.The billionaire cofounder of bond giant Pimco told Business Insider by email this week that his shrewdest wager to date was the purchase of a portfolio of master limited partnership (MLP) pipeline stocks around three years ago.Pointing to Western Midstream Partners as an example, he trumpeted the “enormous” tax benefits of these types of stocks.Specifically, Gross said their distributions are largely treated as return of capital instead of dividends, so they’re only taxed upon sale,…

Increasingly sophisticated vehicles are forcing repair shops to spend more on computers, software and calibration equipment — costs that mechanics say are reaching consumers.Auto mechanic Ralph Czeisler in Brooklyn, New York, said the rapid pace of technological change is forcing him to invest more time and money just to perform even basic repairs, and he is having to pass those costs on to consumers.”Every year, I update all my computers,” said Czeisler, who owns Emil’s All-Tire in the Gravesend neighborhood. “I have multiple computers for domestic, Asian, European cars, and it’s very costly. Every year they make changes, and it…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Alison Donnally, the founder and CEO of JoeyCo. It has been edited for length and clarity.Prior to starting JoeyCo, I worked in strategy and business development within healthcare. That started me down a path of ideating better solutions for elderly patients. But personal tragedies within my own family are what really confirmed for me that a business like JoeyCo was needed.Many older people want to retain their independence. I’ve had a lot of family history with this pattern of aging independently, living alone, and everything working out fine, until suddenly it…

Entertainment Person of the Year, Mattel’s Chairman and CEO Ynon Kreiz speaks during the “Entertainment Person of the Year Seminar: Mattel’s Ynon Kreiz” session at Debussy Theatre during the Cannes Lions International Festival Of Creativity 2024 – Day Five on June 21, 2024, in Cannes, France.Richard Bord | Wireimage | Getty ImagesDavid Ellison has spent two years fighting to build his media empire. Now, he’s bringing in a heavyweight to help him run it.Ynon Kreiz, outgoing CEO of Mattel, will serve as co-CEO of the combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, to be named simply Skydance, when the merger…

HBO’s War is intended to be an anthology series about two dueling London law firms. The first season stars Dominic West and Sienna Miller as a high-profile couple in the midst of a very nasty divorce. Justin Downing/Sky/HBO hide caption toggle caption i Justin Downing/Sky/HBO Dominic West specializes in playing men who feel victimized by the consequences of their own actions. One of his signature lines as Jimmy McNulty on The Wire was, “What the f*** did I do?” The line was often delivered not in the sense of, “Oh no, what did I do?” But instead, as an indignant,…

The giant, shimmering credit card was the first sign.The fintech company Ramp, in a somewhat baffling move, staged a musical. They called it “Bill Pay” and took over Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre. From the back of the mezzanine, I watched the hourlong, witless advertisement.Let me clarify: it’s not that Ramp pretended this was high art. There were ample jokes about how stupid this show was. The audience of techies seemed to eat up the “Hamilton” parody — instead of “I am not throwing away my shot,” it was “I did not throw away my receipt” — and the tap-dancing hobbits. Ramp projected its…

AI is getting cheaper to use, but as companies use it more, we’re bound to see more pressure on the electric grid.In two new reports published this week, McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group said that as companies move beyond experimenting with chatbots and start using AI across more parts of their businesses, cheaper models and falling token prices could make it easier to justify more frequent, higher-volume AI use — and that could pose a problem for the grid.Companies often pay AI providers based on tokens, the small units of text that models read and generate. In the short term,…

Millions of Americans save for decades for the day when they turn in their laptops and never have to work again. When the day comes, though, many fear spending down their nest eggs.Prudential Financial’s 2026 Retirement Pulse survey, conducted online between July and August, found that only 14% of respondents felt comfortable spending each month in retirement for enjoyment, such as hobbies, travel, and dining out. Anxiety about spending doesn’t go away among higher-net-worth individuals, as 39% of those with over $500,000 in investable assets felt comfortable spending for enjoyment.As Prudential notes, it’s a case of FORO, or Fear of…