Posts

Showing posts from February, 2025

We tested the Terra Kaffe TK-02 espresso machine that makes cafe-quality shots, lattes, and drip coffee — it earns the $1,500 price tag

Image
When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Those who want the convenience and speed of an automatic espresso machine while still being involved in the brewing process will love the TK-02. Alex Temblador, Amazon/Business Insider Making espresso is an art, but we don't all have the time to grind coffee beans, dose and tamp the grounds, pull the shot, and clean everything up before starting our day. An automatic espresso machine saves you time and effort, but you lose the ability to fine-tune your drink. That's what makes the Terra-Kaffe TK-02 so special amongst the best espresso machines we've tested. The TK-02 is an automatic espresso machine that lets you adjust the grind size, dosage, water, and brew temperature, plus the milk volume in specialty drinks. You can save and name up to 100,000 drink recipes, so you just select "Monday morning" for the double-shot Americano and "Sunday Funday" for a f...

I bought my first home at age 22. The rental income from my roommates helped me buy an investment property.

Image
Ila Corcoran owns two homes at just 26 years old. Courtesy of Ila Corcoran, Ila Corcoran lived in California but bought a four-bedroom home in Texas where prices were lower. She's a house hacker, living in one bedroom while renting out the others to cover her monthly costs. In 2024, she bought a second property using the rental income she earned from her primary residence. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ila Corcoran, 26, who purchased her first home in 2021 and used the income from renting out its rooms to help buy a second property in 2024. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. When I was 18, I earned my real-estate license and later became a property manager at an apartment complex in Los Angeles . I lived in a one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit valued at $2,300 a month, but my rent was covered as part of my salaried role. I used the money I saved by not paying rent to build up a down payment so I could invest in real estate. At 22, I...

Betting markets are skeptical DOGE will accomplish some of its big goals

Image
Elon Musk is undoubtedly the face of DOGE. It remains clear who exactly is running it. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images Elon Musk's DOGE cost-cutting crusade faces some skepticism in the betting markets. Polymarket data shows bettors see slim chances some of DOGE's goals will be achieved. Musk's ambitious plans include budget cuts, a DOGE dividend, and an audit of the Fed. From a "DOGE dividend" to auditing the gold reserves at Fort Knox, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has laid out some ambitious plans to trim the federal budget. Maybe too ambitious, at least according to betting markets. Data from crypto-based event betting platform Polymarket, which became renowned for accurately predicting the outcome of the 2024 Presidential election, show bettors think the odds of DOGE delivering on some of its loftiest promises are low That's despite aggressive initiatives from DOGE to date, including mass layoffs across various government a...

These charts show why Netflix is chasing more live sports — and its key challenge

Image
Jake Paul beat 58-year-old Mike Tyson in a highly-viewed Netflix live event. Al Bello/Getty Images for Netflix © 2024 Netflix's Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight and NFL games drove surges in daily signups, data shows. These 2024 events were among Netflix's early entries into live sports. The new subscription data shows the live sports strategy is paying off for the streaming giant. Live sports are paying off for Netflix, new subscription data shows. The company had big spikes in daily signups during major live events last year, according to media-subscription research firm Antenna. These included the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight and NFL games on Christmas Day. Netflix brought in 1.4 million US signups for the boxing match, while the Christmas games drove 700 million, per a report Antenna published Tuesday. Alongside live sports, Antenna said Netflix's password-sharing restrictions , which rolled out in the US in 2023, have helped boost signups by limiting t...

Disappointing photos show what it's really like to backpack across Europe

Image
Business Insider's reporter expected an Instagram-like backpacking adventure in Europe, but the reality was much less glamorous. Joey Hadden/Business Insider I spent two weeks backpacking through Europe for the first time in October 2022. I found that it wasn't the glamorous, romantic adventure it often looks like on Instagram. While backpacking, I was disappointed by overnight train rides and crowds of tourists in each city. With a passion for fashion, traveling with just a backpack never appealed to me before 2022. There were always too many layers, accessories, and shoes I wanted to pack. But since I began traveling more as a travel reporter for Business Insider four years ago, I've realized I needed to lighten my load to make it easier to hit the road for longer periods. I prioritized the  minimalist travel style in August 2022, when I spent a week backpacking for the first time through Eastern Canada. It turned out to be much easier — and more efficient —...

4 charts show how Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway piled up cash, dumped stocks, and made a record tax payment in 2024

Image
Warren Buffett is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. REUTERS/Rick Wilking Warren Buffett built a cash mountain, sold stocks, and halted buybacks last year. He nearly doubled Berkshire Hathaway's cash to $334 billion and sold a net $134 billion of stocks. Berkshire paid the most corporate income tax to the IRS of any American company in history, he said. Warren Buffett stacked up record amounts of cash, made sweeping cuts to his stock portfolio, and even stopped buying back his own company's shares last year, as the world's foremost bargain hunter steered clear of a red-hot market. The stock sales meant the famed investor's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate paid the most corporate income tax of any American company in history, Buffett said in his annual shareholder letter on Saturday. The four charts below tell the story of Buffett's remarkable year . Buffett continued to balk at lofty valuations for public companies and private businesses in 2024. Instead...

Electric aircraft founder Kyle Clark threw out the Silicon Valley playbook

On a cool morning last November, 800 people gathered before sunrise in a South Burlington hangar to witness the maiden flight of Beta Technologies’ first electric aircraft to be built on its new scaled production line. Kyle Clark, Beta’s enigmatic founder and CEO, piloted the Alia CX300 — one of the startup’s two aircraft models […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/qhaUp7s via IFTTT

Here's what management experts think about Elon Musk's DOGE emails

Image
  Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS Elon Musk's DOGE had emails sent to federal workers requesting a list of what they did last week. The decision frustrated federal workers, many of whom risk losing their jobs. A career coach told BI that DOGE's approach is "fear-based management." Elon Musk 's management style has once again sparked intense debate, this time for asking federal employees to respond to an email with what they accomplished in the past week — or risk losing their jobs. Musk, a special government employee who is the face of the DOGE White House office, is known for his disruptive leadership style at Tesla , SpaceX , and X . He is now applying those same tactics to federal operations — with mixed reactions from business leaders and government officials. "This method is not just ineffective, it's harmful," George Carrillo, a former Oregon government executive, told Business Insider. Carrillo, the CEO of the Hispanic Construction Counci...

How I Podcast: Summer Album / Winter Album’s Jody Avirgan

The beauty of podcasting is that anyone can do it. It’s a rare medium that’s nearly as easy to make as it is to consume. And as such, no two people do it exactly the same way. There are a wealth of hardware and software solutions open to potential podcasters, so setups run the gamut […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/95tEMvi via IFTTT

3 steps you can take to boost your career

Image
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that people who are worried about artificial intelligence's impact on the job market should become well-versed in using the technology. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images It's still early in 2025, so there's still time to elevate your career this year. Workers might consider building their AI skills to stay competitive, one exec told BI. Volunteering and side hustles can also enhance skills, empowerment, and career opportunities. You might not be hitting the gym as much as you were in January, but there's still time to achieve your career goals in 2025. There are a number of steps you can take to level up your work — and doing so might be more important than ever. That's because workers tend to hold greater responsibility for the shape of their careers than they did five to 10 years ago when employers often played a bigger role, Lisa Walker, a managing partner at the executive search firm DHR Global, told Business Insider. ...

The pain of discontinued items, and the thrill of finding them online

We’ve all been there. A favorite item is suddenly unavailable for purchase. Couldn’t the manufacturer have given you advance warning? Whether owing to low sales, changing habits, production costs, or even because something is a little wrong with your favorite product (shh), discontinued items are part of life. In a weekend piece, the New York […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/4tFTHau via IFTTT

Every actor who has played James Bond, ranked from worst to best

Image
Daniel Craig, Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. MGM James Bond is entering a new era as Amazon MGM has taken creative control over the franchise. The franchise has been in limbo since Daniel Craig's last outing as Bond in 2021's "No Time To Die." Below, Business Insider has ranked all seven actors who have portrayed Bond in film. Over 60 years and 25 movies, seven actors have played the legendary spy James Bond on-screen over the past 60 years. Daniel Craig was the latest to take on the character created by novelist Ian Fleming, bringing a darker, grittier tone to the franchise. His run came to an end in 2021's " No Time To Die ," when his Bond, well, died. Fans of the movies, which have made $6.4 billion worldwide, have been waiting patiently for a new actor to take on the role after Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli , the longtime producers of the franchise, promised that would make more. But on Thursday, Amazon MGM studi...

I own my company and often work while on vacation. My kids made me realize it's not healthy.

Image
The author (not pictured) had a hard time logging off from work during a family trip. Anna Mardo/Getty Images Janine Leghissa, 59, from Wollongong, Australia, traveled to Bali for her daughter's wedding. She runs her own jewelry business, so she took her laptop to work while on vacation. It caused friction within the family, who had to ask her to log off. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Janine Leghissa. It has been edited for length and clarity. When my 29-year-old daughter told me she was getting married in Bali , I was thrilled. It'd be a chance for me to spend quality time with all three of my adult children. My oldest son is 30 and lives in Canada with his wife and my grandson, who is now 3. Although we FaceTime weekly , I'd only met him twice in person before. I couldn't wait to get to know him better. My youngest son is 20 and still lives with me, but he has his own life, so this would be a chance for us to hang out properly, to...