• Iowa recently passed a law banning local governments from providing basic income programs.
• But one providing $500 a month to low-income residents says it will continue using private funds.
• Most participants said they spent the money on food and housing in the first year.

Conservatives in Iowa voted to ban local governments from sponsoring basic income programs earlier this year. But one program in the middle of the state says it's seeing successful results — and will keep going.

The "UpLift" program in central Iowa provides up to $500 a month for 110 low-income residents. Though the legislation could threaten its future, its organizers say it will continue — for now — using private funding. They said the program is showing similar results to other basic income programs around the country: Residents are mostly spending the money on food and shelter.

Ashley Ezzio, a senior project coordinator at The Tom and Ruth Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement, which is conducting the study, told The Des Moines Register that most participants are spending the money on essentials.

A study of the program, which started last May, found that food and groceries made up about 42% of costs in the first year, Ezzio said.

Uplift tracks spending categories and asks participants to take periodic surveys through the University of Pennsylvania and Des Moines University. About 80% of the participants completed the first survey, Uplift said.

Last month, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law that bans county and city governments from providing basic income programs. State Rep. Steve Holthave called for the bans, calling basic income programs "socialism on steroids" and "an attack on American values."

Guaranteed basic income programs typically offer no-strings-attached monthly payments between $500 and $1,000 to specific groups, like new moms, Black women, or trans people, all low-income residents. They differ from their idealistic cousin — a universal basic income. UBI, made famous by Andrew Yang during the 2016 presidential election, would provide a monthly payment to all citizens.

UpLift's findings in Iowa mirror those of basic income programs across the country.

In Austin, one study found that residents in a program that received $1,000 monthly payments for a year spent the no-strings-attached cash mostly on housing and food.

Still, conservatives in Texas are also pushing back against such programs. The state Supreme Court temporarily blocked a Houston-area program in April that gave low-income residents $500 a month after the state attorney general called it "unconstitutional."

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt maintained a lifelong connection with Springwood, his family home.
• He was raised at the property in Hyde Park, New York, and hosted dignitaries there as president.
• Measuring about 21,000 square feet, Springwood has 49 rooms and eight bathrooms.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's estate in Hyde Park, New York, is the only place in the US where a president was born, maintained a connection throughout his life, and is buried, according to the National Park Service.

Widely regarded as one of the most influential US presidents, Roosevelt was elected in 1932 and led the country through the Great Depression and World War II. Known for expansive government programs such as the New Deal, he died in office while serving an unprecedented fourth term in 1945.

Roosevelt's 21,000-square-foot family home, an Italianate-style villa known as Springwood, is open to the public as part of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park. Everything inside is original to the home.

Take a look inside the historic site.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's home, known as Springwood, is in Hyde Park, New York.

The Vanderbilt family's 45,000-square-foot Gilded Age mansion is also in Hyde Park, which is about 95 miles from New York City.

It's located on the grounds of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

The National Park Service operates both the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, while the National Archives manages the library's collections.

The National Park Service offers 40-minute guided tours of Springwood from May through October. Tickets cost $15 each and are sold in person on a first-come, first-serve basis.

As I began my walk to Springwood, I passed bronze statues of Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt.

The statues were modeled after a 1933 photograph of the Roosevelts at their Hyde Park home.

A park ranger told me to follow the sign for the stables to reach Roosevelt's home.

Further along the path, I began to see signs for Springwood, which is located next to the stables.

The stables still featured the names of the Roosevelt family's horses.

Roosevelt was an avid equestrian and continued riding even after his legs became paralyzed due to polio.

The tour started outside Springwood as a park ranger spoke about the history of the home and the Roosevelt family.

Roosevelt's father, James Roosevelt, was a Harvard-educated lawyer who earned his fortune as a businessman for various railroad and coal companies. He purchased the original farmhouse on the property in 1867 and named it "Springwood."

In 1915, Roosevelt and Eleanor added two stone wings and most of the third floor to make more room for their six children.

The guide also pointed out a front portico that resembled the South Portico of the White House.

"Perhaps a little political foreshadowing?" he said.

The Entrance Hall was decorated with prints from Roosevelt's naval collection and editorial cartoons from the 18th century.

Roosevelt served as assistant secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson. His fondness for Navy ships was evident in the decor throughout Springwood.

The Entrance Hall also featured Roosevelt's boyhood bird collection and a bronze statue of him at age 29.

As a child, Roosevelt collected birds and had them stuffed in order to study them up close.

The bronze statue depicts Roosevelt in 1911 when he was serving his first term in the New York State Senate.

In the Dining Room, Roosevelt sat at the head of the table in the seat pulled out on the left.

The small round table in the back of the room was the kids' table.

After dinner, guests would move to the Dresden Room, which functioned as a sitting room.

The room is named for the Dresden chandelier and sconces that Roosevelt's father brought back from Dresden, Germany.

A foldable ramp made the stairs leading into the Library accessible for Roosevelt's wheelchair.

At 39 years old, Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio and became paralyzed from the waist down. He didn't want people to know that he used a wheelchair, so the ramp could be folded up and hidden away when guests were present.

When Roosevelt took business meetings at Springwood, his aides positioned him in an armchair and put a stack of papers in his lap to give him a plausible reason not to stand when his guests arrived.

In the Library, Roosevelt met with world leaders and dignitaries.

Roosevelt's famous guests included King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), Prince Frederik and Princess Ingrid of Denmark, Prince Olav and Princess Martha of Norway, and Winston Churchill.

The room also featured a portrait of Roosevelt painted by Ellen Emmet Rand.

Roosevelt sat for the portrait after he was elected to his first term as president in 1932.

The tour continued upstairs with the Pink Room, which functioned as a guest room.

King George VI and Winston Churchill slept in this room during their visits to Hyde Park.

Another guest room was used by his political advisors.

Louis Howe and Harry Hopkins, two of Roosevelt's close political advisors, stayed in this room.

The Chintz Room was also used as a guest room for important visitors.

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Russian pianist Madam Knavage, and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, stayed in the Chintz Room during their time at Springwood.

Roosevelt was born in the Blue Room on January 30, 1882.

His father, James Roosevelt, wrote in his diary on the night of Roosevelt's birth that he was a "splendid, large baby boy" who weighed 10 pounds. Everything in the Blue Room is original, including the mattress Roosevelt was born on.

James and his wife, Sara Roosevelt, slept in the Blue Room. After James' death, Sara moved into another room down the hall when the home was renovated in 1915, bringing her furniture with her. The Blue Room was then redecorated and repurposed as a guest room.

Sara requested that the original furniture be moved back into the Blue Room after her death to restore it to the way it looked when Roosevelt was born.

Growing up, Roosevelt slept in this bedroom until he married Eleanor in 1905.

When the Roosevelts had children of their own, the oldest son living at home slept here.

The hallway leading to the primary bedrooms included a unique piece of decor: a mirror mounted on a 45-degree angle.

The Secret Service used the mirror to monitor activity down the hall and around the front of the house.

Roosevelt's mother, Sara Roosevelt, slept in a bedroom at the end of the hall.

Roosevelt's father, James, died in 1900, while Sara lived for another 41 years. She moved from the Blue Room into this room after the home's 1915 renovation.

Eleanor moved into a smaller bedroom connected to Roosevelt's room after he became sick with polio.

The space was originally intended to be a morning room.

After Roosevelt's death in 1945, Eleanor moved to Val-Kill, a cottage she built with friends Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman. Located around 2.5 miles from Springwood, the property is now known as the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site.

Roosevelt's bedroom windows featured views of the Hudson River.

Roosevelt would often spend early mornings in his room reading the paper or meeting with one of his secretaries.

Beside his bed, a designated phone provided a direct, secure line to the White House.

Having direct communication with Washington was state-of-the-art technology at the time, and proved crucial as his health began to fail towards the end of his life.

Our tour guide ended his presentation with a surprising detail: the clothes hanging in Roosevelt's bedroom closet.

"The clothes that are in that room on display, FDR handpicked for you to see," our guide said. "He knew you were coming."

Eleanor turned Springwood over to the National Park Service in 1945, shortly after Roosevelt's death, and spoke at its dedication as a national historic site in 1946.

"I think Franklin realized that the historic library, the house, and the peaceful resting place behind the high hedge with flowers blooming around it would perhaps mean something to the people of the United States," she said at the event, author Olin Dows wrote in his 1949 book, "Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park," according to the National Park Service. "They would understand the rest and peace and strength which he had gained here and perhaps learn to come, and go away with some sense of healing and courage themselves."

As I exited Springwood through the south lawn, I was greeted by stunning views of the Hudson Valley.

Roosevelt planted many of the trees on the property as part of his forestry experiments and conservation efforts.

Visitors could also pay their respects at the Roosevelts' burial site in Springwood's rose garden.

Roosevelt wrote that he wanted to be buried where the sundial stood in the rose garden on his Hyde Park estate, according to the National Park Service.

Roosevelt's legacy lives on in his presidential library and museum, the construction of which he oversaw himself.

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum was dedicated in 1941.

He was the first US president to establish a library to house papers and artifacts from his political career, a model that every president since has followed.

When I visited my first presidential library, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, I bought a passport to fill with stamps from all 15 presidential libraries nationwide. I was delighted to find a desk with stamps to add to my booklet just outside the gift shop.

Springwood remains a meaningful historical site memorializing one of America's most prominent presidents.

Nearly 10,000 people visited Springwood on the first day it was open to the public in 1946, and they haven't stopped visiting since.

• Central Florida's tourism oversight district will soon vote on a development plan with Disney.
• The plan would greenlight $17 billion in development at Walt Disney World over 10 to 20 years.
• It could herald the arrival of the much-rumored "fifth theme park" in Florida.

Rumors that Walt Disney World might build a fifth theme park in Central Florida have persisted for years. Now, there's some good news for anyone hoping those rumors are true.

A potential new development agreement between Central Florida's tourism board and The Walt Disney Company could usher in the rumored expansion.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District will host a public hearing on Disney's development plan during a meeting next week before finally voting on June 15.

If approved, the agreement would be a major thaw in relations between Disney and the tourism board, which the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis effectively commandeered from Disney in 2023. DeSantis appointed five people to the tourism board, but two have since left their positions.

As now written, the agreement would allow Disney to spend $17 billion to further develop Walt Disney World over the next 10 to 20 years, according to a statement from the tourism board.

"With Walt Disney World's substantial investments, we anticipate economic growth, job creation, and support for local businesses, alongside environmental stewardship and workforce housing initiatives, benefiting Central Florida's community," District Administrator Stephanie Kopelousos said in a statement to Business Insider.

The tourism board said the agreement would require Disney to find local contractors for any construction and award a minimum of 50% of all construction work to Florida-based businesses. It also requires Disney to fund "attainable" housing projects.

Disney officials haven't detailed how the billions would be spent, but an industry insider told the Orlando Sentinel that a fifth theme park could join its roster of existing properties.

Magic Kingdom opened to the public in 1971, followed by Epcot in 1982, Disney's Hollywood Studios in 1989, and Animal Kingdom in 1998.

Disney CEO Bob Iger skirted a question about a new Florida theme park during an earnings call in February, according to the Sentinel.

"We're already hard at work at basically determining where we're going to place our new investments and what they will be," Iger said. "You can pretty much conclude that they'll be all over, meaning every single one of our locations will be the beneficiary of increased investment."

Representatives for The Walt Disney Co. and Walt Disney World did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

DeSantis vs. Disney

The pending development agreement between the tourism board and Disney comes after a contentious legal battle — initiated by DeSantis — that began in April 2022.

The legal battle began when Disney publicly opposed DeSantis's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill. DeSantis lashed out at the entertainment conglomerate and attempted to upend a long-standing arrangement that allowed Disney to self-govern through its Reedy Creek Improvement District.

DeSantis gained control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District in February 2023. His administration renamed it the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and DeSantis appointed its board supervisors, effectively removing Disney's autonomy over development in the area.

The former Reedy Creek Improvement District board members tried to push through a development deal before they were ousted. But after a series of court battles, Disney and the new tourism board finally reached a settlement in March.

That settlement nullified the last-minute deal the former Reedy Creek board members pushed through. The settlement then suggested Disney and the new board work together on a new development deal.

• Trump's plans for a universal tariff on all US imports could set off a global trade war, a Peterson Institute fellow said.
• Such a conflict erupted the last time the US applied blanket protectionism in the 1930s.
• Others have warned that a trade war with China could be coming regardless, no matter who is president.

Donald Trump says his trade policy would be a way to protect the US from exploitation. 

Yet, by applying a base tariff on virtually all foreign goods, he's starting a "war against trade itself," Alan Wm. Wolff wrote for the Peterson Institute for International Economics. 

The Republican candidate has made tariffs a cornerstone of his prospective trade policy, proposing a universal 10% duty on all imports heading into the US. As for Chinese goods, Trump has touted tariffs as high as 60%.

Still, before the US embraces this level of protectionism, it might be better to dust off some history, the left-leaning think tank said — blanket tariffs aren't an entirely untested phenomenon.

Something similar to this last happened at the onset of the Great Depression, when struggling US farmers asked that foreign imports be taxed. 

That spawned the 1930 Tariff Act, but the legislation was far more ambitious than first conceived. Aside from just agriculture, a wide swath of industries notched new protections, and import tariffs rose an average 47%.

World economies fired back almost immediately. Even before the bill went into effect, about a dozen countries retaliated with their own restrictions. Great Britain followed a year on, imposing tariffs of up to 50%, Wolff said.

"Economists agree that high tariffs broadened and deepened the Great Depression, when US unemployment reached 25 percent and we nearly lost our democracy," the distinguished visiting fellow wrote.

Today, the US tariff averages 3%, a safe distance away from the extremes nearly a century ago. But if Trump wins back the presidency, his experiments with blanket protectionism could change this.

On its own, that might not mean much to consumers, who are likely growing desensitized high tariff talk and warnings about trade standoffs, he added, but if tariffs do jump sharply, there will be real consequences for the public.

According to separate research from the Peterson Institute, Trump's proposed taxes could cost consumers 2% of US GDP, totalling $500 billion a year. By another estimate, households would pay an extra $1,500 per year from these tariffs.

And other academics, such as Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff, have warned of inflationary implications.

Meanwhile, trade war warnings aren't limited to just Wolff. However, other experts have noted that such conflicts could be in store, irrelevant of who is president. 

That at least seems likely between the US and China, after the country's advanced manufacturing was significantly sped up. Although higher production was meant to help stimulate China's economy, Beijing is now sitting with a glut of products it needed to unload. 

"They need to get that export engine up," China Beige Book CEO Leland Miller said in March. "That's going to cause a lot of problems globally, politically. That's why I think we're going to be entering into a trade war next year."

In fact, the US appears to already be responding, after President Biden announced a spree of tariffs on China's tech exports earlier this month. 

But while Biden's fresh restrictions may seem high, Waller noted that they're still not comparable to Trump's proposal. 

For instance, the new 50% tariffs on Chinese semiconductors may seem extreme, but they target a trade that's just below $1 billion a year, he said. Compared to that, the US imports six times that amount each month.

"Unlike the Biden tariffs, the Trump plan is for increased tariffs on all products from all countries. It is not just America First; it is America Alone," Wolff wrote. 

• A millennial couple won the New York City affordable-housing lottery after applying about 25 times.
• Brynne McManimie, 35, and Peter Romano, 34, now live in a $2,800-a-month apartment in Brooklyn.
• "It was unusually fast. I don't think that's the case for most people, but we got very lucky," McManimie told BI.

In 2021, Brynne McManimie and Peter Romano lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Due to the pandemic, they had gotten a good deal on their lease and paid $2,600 in rent each month. But that didn't last long.

"After a year, our landlord raised our rent by like 25% and it made us very nervous about staying in that apartment," McManimie, an actor and teacher, told Business Insider. Their new rent was $3,300 a month.

"That's when we were like, 'OK, let's just try the housing lottery,'" McManimie added.

For Romano, a New Yorker, and McManimie, a West Coast transplant who has been living in New York for 13 years, the affordable-housing lottery was one of those things they had always heard about.

"It's one of those things that was always talked about in our circle of friends because, as artists, there's also artist housing in New York and we know many people who have lived in those," McManimie said.

The decision to apply for the affordable-housing lottery was also sparked by their desire not to give up some of the perks they were already used to in Greenpoint — such as having a washer and dryer in their unit.

"A lot of these new buildings with the housing lottery are nice and have a lot of good amenities, but they're a lot more affordable and in our price range," McManimie said. "So that prompted us to go for it."

A pipe dream for most

The affordable-housing lotteries are run by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, or HPD, and the Housing Development Corporation.

Although applying is free, each household must meet specific income requirements to qualify for a lottery apartment. These vary across developments depending on unit size and location.

But winning the housing lottery is a pipe dream for most applicants: In 2018, The New York Times reported that the odds of winning were 1 in 592.

But luck was on the couple's side.

"This actually happened very fast for us," McManimie, 35, said. "I think we applied to this building in April 2023. We were contacted in May to submit documents but didn't hear from them until September."

By early October, they had already signed the lease and moved in.

"It was unusually fast. I don't think that's the case for most people, but we got very lucky," McManimie said, adding that they had applied to about 25 different buildings.

$2,800 a month

The couple's one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in Clinton Hill came with a balcony. It's a corner unit, so they have neighbors on only one side.

According to the latest May data from RentHop.com, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Clinton Hill is $3,750.

"It's definitely smaller than our old apartment," McManimie said. "The kitchen and the living room are all one big room, but everything is brand new. We're the first people to live in this unit."

It also had all the amenities they wanted: a dishwasher, a washer-dryer, central AC, and heating.

The couple signed a two-year lease on the apartment and now pay $2,800 monthly rent.

"Since it's rent-stabilized, they can't raise it like a ton," Romano, an actor and professor, told BI. "Which is honestly really attractive to us, given what happened with our last landlord."

Every year, the Rent Guidelines Board decides the percentages by which landlords can legally increase rents for rent-stabilized apartments. In 2023, the board voted to raise rents on one-year leases by 3%, and on two-year leases by 2.75% for the first year and 3.2% for the second year, per The New York Times.

The day they moved in, it felt like a weight off their shoulders.

"I felt relieved, honestly," Romano, 34, added. "Our financial situation — with this rent amount — was going to feel very good. And I remember when we sat down on the couch after the day, it was like, 'Okay, I can breathe a little bit.'"

McManimie felt the same.

"I was a little nervous about downsizing even more. But after a couple of days, I didn't really notice," McManimie said. "Our building has a rooftop deck; we have a lounge upstairs to work in with a beautiful view of the city. We have a gym and a giant lobby."

Although the apartment is small — about 550 square feet — it still feels like they have a lot of space, she added.

A work in progress

Design-wise, the couple's apartment is bright and colorful with midcentury influences.

McManimie is behind the decor, while Romano is the one who's responsible for building their furniture.

"Since our space is so small, we looked for furniture with storage. Our coffee table, one of our stools, and our bed has additional storage," McManimie said. "We also store things under our couch and above our cabinets."

Other furniture pieces are from a vacation home they previously owned in Poconos with McManimie's father.

"We sold it before we even applied for this apartment since it made us a little ineligible for a while," Romano said. Those applying for rental units through the housing lottery aren't allowed to own residential property in or within 100 miles of New York City limits.

Although they were sad to see it go, it's been nice not to have to manage a property, McManimie added: "I think people don't always realize how hard it is to be a homeowner."

Even now, they aren't done decorating their apartment.

"Our bedroom is definitely still a work in progress," McManimie said, adding that she's looking for an antique mirror for the space. She also shared that she has an antique desk in storage that she's planning to use as a vanity.

A 'life-changing' opportunity

Their biggest tip for anyone who wants to apply for the housing lottery is to have all the financial paperwork on hand during the application process.

"Your tax returns, your pay stubs — they asked for all of that information in quite a quick amount of time to turn around," Romano said.

There's also no point in applying for apartments that fall outside your income range since "they're going to weed you out immediately," McManimie said.

Applying for the housing lottery requires a lot of paperwork and many people end up unsuccessful in their bids, but it's still worth a shot, she added.

"If you're unhappy with your situation or your rent is too high, you might as well try," McManimie said. "You have to decide what your priorities are."

Ultimately, the apartment situation worked ouy well for them, she added.

"We're really happy and very thankful that New York City has an affordable housing lottery. It's definitely been life-changing," she said.

Have you recently built or renovated your dream home? If you have a story to share, get in touch with me at agoh@businessinsider.com.

• Boeing has been involved in a string of high-profile safety incidents over the last six months.
• One mechanic told The Guardian that the firm's largest factory is now in "panic mode."
• They also accused managers of trying to keep staff quiet about safety concerns.

Managers at Boeing's largest factory in Everett, Washington, "will hound mechanics" to keep quiet about safety and quality assurance concerns, a mechanic who has worked for the company for more than three decades told The Guardian.

Boeing's Everett site, one of the world's largest manufacturing buildings, produces the 747, 767, 777, and 787 airplanes.

The factory is also responsible for fixing the 787 Dreamliner, and the unnamed mechanic told the Guardian that it was "full of" faulty 787 jets waiting to be mended.

Many of the planes arriving at Everett come from Boeing's 787 Dreamliner Final Assembly building in South Carolina, which it opened in 2011.

The mechanic added that people at the Everett site were "in panic mode," saying that Boeing managers "finally figured out that they got more people that have no idea what's going on, than people that do."

The Guardian reported that Boeing "did not comment on claims that staff have been pressured not to raise concerns about quality" but said that work on the 787s at the Everett factory was part of an "established verification program."

Business Insider has contacted Boeing for comment.

The aerospace manufacturer has faced increased scrutiny following a string of safety issues over the last six months, beginning with the Alaska Airlines blowout in January, which led to the grounding of 171 Max 9 planes in the US.

In April, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) opened an investigation into claims made by a Boeing quality engineer who alleged that he had observed the company start taking "shortcuts" while working on the 787 in late 2020.

Sam Salehpour said he believed the company had failed to adequately shim — or fill tiny gaps with a thin piece of material — parts affecting more than 1,000 787s in service, which was "likely to cause premature fatigue failure over time in two major airplane joints."

He said that the shortcuts had been taken to "reduce bottlenecks in production and speed up production and delivery of 787s."

Boeing has pushed back at the claims on its website, saying that it has full confidence in the 787 Dreamliner due to the "comprehensive work done to ensure the quality and long-term safety of the aircraft."

"Claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate," it adds.

But the FAA ordered another investigation into the manufacturer in May after the company said it may not have properly inspected its 787 Dreamliner planes.

"The FAA is investigating whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records," the agency said in a statement.

It added that Boeing was re-inspecting all 787 jets in production.

Following the Alaska blowout incident, the FAA ordered Boeing to produce an action plan to address its safety issues.

The FAA said this week that it was continuing "to hold Boeing accountable" after it conducted a review of that plan.

FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said: "This does not mark the end of our increased oversight of Boeing and its suppliers, but it sets a new standard of how Boeing does business."

Boeing's issues have also seen it hit with criticism from one of its biggest customers, Emirates CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

He told the planemaker to "get your act together" in an interview with CNBC in May.

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Welcome back to our Sunday edition, a roundup of some of our top stories. Pet owners spent an estimated $3.9 billion on pet insurance in 2023. You'll want to read this before buying it for Kitty and Flopsy.

On the agenda:

• Amazon wants to crack Nvidia's AI chip dominance. It's not going well.
• Seven Wall Street heavyweights reveal the single best trades of their careers.
• A bizarre government rule is preventing young men from getting a job.
• Denmark made homebuying easier. America should follow its lead.

But first: Searching for answers at Google.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Insider's app here.

This week's dispatch

Searching for answers

Hundreds of millions of people turn to Google each day to get their questions answered.

How Google finds, categorizes, and ranks that information is constantly evolving. An entire industry has developed to help those who want to show up on the first page of search results.

In the past, some users might have noticed subtle changes from time to time: a result seems better tailored to their needs, or is delivered that little bit quicker. For most, these tweaks might pass them by.

Not anymore.

From the sharp shift towards showcasing Reddit and similar platforms to the bumpy rollout out of the generative search experience, Google is transforming itself before our eyes.

Those who rely on Google for referrals are freaking out. There have been embarrassing edge cases (no, you shouldn't put glue in your pizza). There will be lessons learned and updates implemented.

What's clear: Google's efforts to disrupt itself are already having a profound impact on the information ecosystem. We're all in on the ride.

Amazon's chip ambitions

Amazon is struggling to compete with Nvidia's dominance over AI chips — and it's another sign of how far behind it is in the generative-AI race.

Low usage, "compatibility gaps," and project-migration issues are putting millions of dollars in cloud revenue at risk, according to confidential internal documents and people familiar with the situation.

More on that here.

Also read:

• A single customer made up 19% of Nvidia's revenue last year. UBS thinks it's Microsoft.

The best investments ever

BI asked seven heavyweight investors, including Rob Arnott and Bob Elliott, to identify the best trades of their careers.

Each shared the top investments they've made, and explained how the lessons from those decisions still apply today.

See their best-ever trades.

America's ridiculous hiring hurdle

Fewer American men than ever are working right now, and unemployment insurance may be at least partially to blame.

The way firings are handled might affect whether guys get hired in the first place. If you are going to get taxed for employees that get laid off, you're going to be a lot more hesitant about hiring.

Why employers are reluctant to hire young men.

A better way to sell homes

Fixed-rate mortgages guarantee homeowners will pay the same amount each month for decades. But when mortgage rates shoot up, they can also prevent homeowners from selling.

In Denmark, 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. This helps keep the housing market from locking up — and is something America can learn from.

Inside Denmark's genius housing fix.

This week's quote:

"We're not writing a blank check."

Andrea Mac, a business owner who made $550,000 last year, on why she and her husband decided not to pay their daughter's college tuition.

More of this week's top reads:

• First came cellphones, then came smartphones. Now, "IntelliPhones" are coming.
• Laid-off TikTokers reflect on the "abrupt end to a very chaotic ride."
• Here's how much hedge funds and prop-trading firms pay AI workers.
• Google announced a smartwatch for kids — and it looks pretty good.
• Fisker cuts deeper with a new wave of summer layoffs.
• Loyalty at work no longer pays — and it's employers who are to blame.
• Early retirees share three IRS rules they've used to avoid taxes.

• Vivek Ramaswamy has a plan for BuzzFeed. There's just one problem.

  ---

  The Insider Today team: Matt Turner, deputy editor-in-chief, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York.

• North Korea floated another 720 trash-filled balloons into South Korea, local reports said.
• Pyongyang says it is retaliation for activists sending anti-North Korean leaflets across the border.
•  Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, called the balloons "sincere presents."

North Korea launched another 720 balloons across its border with South Korea Saturday night, carrying plastic bags full of cigarette butts, scraps of cloth, and waste paper.

Pyongyang says it was retaliation for activists sending anti-North Korean leaflets and USB drives containing K-pop music across the border.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said 720 balloons carrying trash were floated into the country, while Reuters quoted a figure of 600.

Since last Tuesday, North Korea has sent up between 850 and almost 1,000 balloons across the demilitarized zone, spreading trash in the capital Seoul and other parts of the country.

The trash balloons adds to a recent series of provocative steps by North Korea, including its failed spy satellite launch on Monday and a barrage of short-range missile launches on Thursday seen as an attempt to demonstrate the country's ability to preemptively strike its neighbor.

The South Korean military advised citizens not to touch the balloons, warning of possible danger, said the Yonhap News Agency.

The government in Seoul sent text alerts informing the public that unidentified objects from North Korea had been detected in the skies above the city and that the military was responding to them, per the Associated Press.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Sunday denounced North Korea's launch of trash balloons as a "depraved provocation," adding that such actions were "unacceptable to the international community," said the Yonhap News Agency.

"The government will deal with them calmly, focusing on securing national safety," Han said.

Sung Tae-yoon, director of national policy in the presidential office, said, "North Korea's ballistic missile provocations, GPS jamming, and trash balloons harm our people and threaten our security."

South Korea's military deployed chemical rapid response and explosive clearance teams to recover debris from approximately 260 North Korean balloons discovered across the country on Tuesday night.

According to the military, this first barrage of balloons contained manure but no hazardous substances such as chemical, biological, or radioactive materials.

South Korea's defense ministry confirmed the presence of fertilizer to NBC News, not human excrement, which earlier reports had speculated — though the outlet said human feces were sent by North Korea in 2016.

Some of the balloons were equipped with timers, suggesting that they were intended to release the trash in midair, AP reported.

In a statement on Wednesday, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, called the balloons "sincere presents" for South Korean "goblins of democracy who are crying for the guarantee of freedom of expression," according to a statement by state-run Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday.

• Libby Brooks wanted to move out of her parents' house, so she started budgeting. 
• The 50/30/20 method worked for a while, but she found it didn't allow her to pay off her debts. 
• Switching to the 50/20/20/10 method gave her more ability to work toward financial goals.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Libby Brooks, 27, who lives in Wisconsin, about her budgeting journey. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I began to budget after college when I had a significant amount of zeros in my bank account I hadn't had before.

I started my first post-college job in January 2020 as a project manager in the power generation industry. The starting salary was $65,000. I previously worked as a bartender and waitress during college, so it was a salary jump.

When I started the role, I lived at home with my parents, so my expenses were low, and my disposable income was high. When COVID hit, I tended to shop online, overspending on clothes. I wasn't taking inventory of the things I was buying or thinking about whether I actually needed them.

My behavior started to change around August 2020 because I wanted to move out of my parent's house. Realizing how much I'd need for a security deposit and furniture made me want to get my finances under control.

My budgeting journey has evolved since I first started saving to move out. Four years later, I've been able to personalize my budget system to my financial goals and feel more in control of my debt and spending habits.

The 50/30/20 rule was an easy introduction to budgeting

When I first started to think about budgeting, I used a spreadsheet to keep track of what I was spending my money on and the amount. I read some personal finance books, which is how I came across the 50/30/20 rule.

The rule was very simple and easy for me to understand, like an equation. I could simply take the income that hit my bank account and divide it out into those different percentages. 50% of my income goes to needs, 30% on wants and 20% on savings.

Under my necessary expenses, I had $100 set aside every month for my dog's expenses, including food and grooming. And later when I moved into an apartment with my boyfriend, I spent around $800 a month on rent. I commuted to work in my car and gas cost between $300 and $400 a month, I was also spending money on groceries and medical expenses.

Under non-essential expenses, I'd budget around $200 a month for dining out with friends and between $300 and $500 for shopping.

Within the 20% put toward savings, I typically contributed around $200 to my 401(k) and $100 to my emergency fund with every paycheck, so roughly twice a month.

I was able to move out of my parent's house and into an apartment with my partner in January 2021. We split the security deposit and the first and last month's rent equally between us. I saved 20% of my paycheck between August and December to afford to move.

I switched to the 50/20/20/10 rule to make room for my financial goals

I used the 50/30/20 rule until the end of 2021, but I started feeling frustrated because it seemed like I was running out of money every month.

I had been putting 20% into savings, but after learning more about personal finance, I wanted to spend more on my financial goals. I want to become debt-free by the time I'm 30, which means contributing more than my minimum monthly payment toward my car and student debt and putting more money into my emergency fund.

However, whenever I contributed over $100 to my emergency fund or any other financial goal in a month, I felt I was running out of money. I was putting all of my expenses, necessary and non-essential, on a credit card to gain the benefits of credit card points, but I would then have to pull money from my emergency fund for some months to cover this credit card bill.

I tweaked the rule to pay off my debt faster

I realized that the 50/30/20 rule didn't really account for my financial goals of paying off debt.

I came across a TikTok creator talking about the 50/20/20/10 budgeting rule. For them, that meant allocating 50% to necessities, 20% to non-essentials, 20% to savings and 10% to investments. At the beginning of 2022, I decided to put my own spin on this method and use that final 10% for my financial goals, like saving and paying off my debts.

I switched jobs in April 2022, and my current salary is $109,000. Per month, I take home around $5,800. I budget $3,100 for necessities, $1,075 for non-essentials, $650 for savings, and around $960 for my financial goals bucket. That doesn't break down exactly into a 50/20/20/10 framework, but I see the rule as more of a guideline.

I got engaged in February 2023, so I decided to use the 10% financial goals bucket on saving for my wedding instead of paying off debt. After my wedding, the breakdown may change.

I think it's important to be flexible with your budgeting.

I've had to cut spending on shopping, but I feel better about my financial goals

Since switching to the 50/20/20/10 rule, I've felt less stressed. Previously, it was more challenging to prioritize financial goals, and it felt like I was going over budget, even though I could usually cover my expenses in the end.

Now I've increased my savings budget and decreased my unnecessary spending, I feel more confident in my finances. I set up an auto-deposit into multiple savings accounts, so it runs on autopilot, and I don't have to think about it.

Right now, the focus is saving for my wedding, but with this budgeting system, I plan to pay off my student loan and car payments by 2027 and 2029. I have a full picture of where my money goes each month, so I know how much I can afford to throw at my debts to work toward a $0 balance.

I spent more on new clothes as my salary increased — around $800 to $1,000 monthly. Because I was factoring this into my 50/30/20 budget, I could afford it. Nowadays, I'm allocating $100 to $200 for shopping and using clothing rental services to save money.

Renting clothes gives me a similar feeling from shopping but it's more sustainable and doesn't crowd up my closet.

The great thing about personal finance is you can always make changes according to what fits best with your lifestyle.

• Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications company, has become one of the world's biggest tech names.
• It started off manufacturing equipment before venturing into smartphones and more.
• Here's how it rose to compete with tech titans like Apple.

Huawei has become one of the world's biggest, most controversial tech companies over nearly 40 years.

The Chinese tech giant started as one of the world's leading networking equipment producers, making items such as base stations, routers, modems, and switches that provide phone service and internet access worldwide.

It has expanded its product line to include wearable devices and, most notably, smartphones, which have become a major competitor to Apple's iPhone in China.

The company had about 207,000 employees as of 2023 and operates in over 170 countries and regions. In the same year, Huawei hit nearly $100 billion in revenue and more than $12 billion in profit.

Ren Zhengfei, the CEO and founder of Huawei, came from humble beginnings but was worth $1 billion as of 2022, according to Forbes.

Still, the company has been mired in controversy, with the US accusing the Chinese company of stealing trade secrets.

Here's how a tiny IT technology firm in China became a rival to Apple — and became seen as a national security threat in parts of the world.

Ren Zhengfei founded Huawei in 1987 when he was 44 years old in an apartment in Shenzhen, China.

Ren said Huawei's registered capital was roughly 21,000 yuan, or just under $3,000 as of May 2024. He said he didn't receive "a single penny" from the Chinese government and pooled funds from outside investors.

The CEO said he had no experience building a company.

Huawei started as a reseller of telephone switch equipment made by a Hong Kong manufacturer.

"We worked very hard and made our first money during those early years," Ren said in Huawei's docu-series.

When Huawei's business boomed, the Hong Kong company stopped supplying Huawei with routers, forcing the startup to develop its own telecommunication products.

Huawei focused on research and development for its initial telecom products during the 90s.

Since major cities in China were dominated by big players, Huawei sold telecom equipment to rural areas that could withstand harsh weather conditions.

By 1995, the company generated nearly $220 million in sales, according to the BBC.

Lyu Ke, a member of Huawei's supervisory board, said in the company's docu-series that during its early days, employees worked day and night without leaving the building for almost a month.

"If you feel tired, you go for sleep, take a shower, and go back to work," Lyu said.

In the 2000s, Huawei decided to expand its operations beyond China.

The first few years in the overseas market were rough as they struggled to sell their equipment to customers.

"After I started Huawei, it was very difficult to ensure the company's survival," Ren said in a 2019 interview with CBS.

By 2000, its international sales reached US$100 million, and by 2005, international contract orders exceeded domestic sales for the first time.

During its foray beyond China, Huawei started to enter the consumer device market.

In 2004, the company shipped its first phone, the C300, with features like basic voice calls and SMS, a text messaging service.

Two years later, the company released the Huawei U626 — its first 3G phone — with a color screen, camera, and faster data connectivity, an effort to enter the advanced phone market.

The company released a USB modem in 2006, which could be plugged into computers to access the internet.

By the late 2000s, Huawei reached a series of financial milestones.

Between 2008 and 2009, contract sales increased by 46% — most of which came from overseas — and generated close to $23.3 billion in revenue, according to Reuters. The company was also seeking to expand in the US.

Following the success of its smartphones, Huawei expanded into wearable devices

In 2015, the company released the Huawei watch, which combined typical watch functions with modern smartwatch features.

By 2019, the telecom giant seemed to be leading the 5G revolution for faster wireless connection globally

As of February 2019, the company had more than 30 contracts for 5G and deployed more than 40,000 5G stations globally, the LA Times reported, demonstrating its global influence. Huawei execs claimed that the company was ahead of America's most advanced providers in developing the technology.

Huawei employees reportedly say the pay is stellar despite the tough work environment.

One former employee said workers get juicy bonuses that "usually exceed our base salary" for finishing projects.

"It's just obscene amounts," the employee told the LA Times in 2019.

Another employee told the outlet that Huawei gives employees the option to buy company shares if they hit performance goals.

The compensation for workers seemed to have offset the company's so-called "wolf culture," where some were expected to take on the work of three people, sources told the LA Times.

In performance reviews, Chinese staff are reportedly ranked A, B, C, or D, where workers are pitted against one another to succeed.

Workers who received a score of A got double the bonuses employees who scored B got, a Shenzhen-based employee told the Times. Those who scored C — which 10% of staff must get — for two consecutive years were fired.

Huawei's smartphones, one of its most successful consumer products, are now a rival to Apple's iPhone in China

The company introduced Ascend, its first line of smartphones, in 2010 in a move to enter the global smartphone market following the release of the iPhone.

Two years later, Huawei launched the Ascend P1 S, which was said to be one of the thinnest smartphones in the world at the time. It later released high-end phones like the Mate and P Lines, and lower-end devices with its offshoot brand Honor.

Still, Huawei's ascent to the international arena has included controversies

In 2003, hardware giant Cisco sued Huawei, accusing the company of stealing network router technology, which Huawei eventually settled.

Then, in 2010, Motorola hit the Chinese company with a suit alleging that Huawei conspired with several Motorola workers to steal trade secrets. Motorola agreed to drop the suit in 2011.

And in 2017, a jury decided that Huawei misappropriated trade secrets belonging to T-Mobile in a series of incidents that occurred in 2012 and 2013.

The United States saw Huawei as a potential threat to national security

The US and other countries have expressed concerns that Huawei's equipment could be used for espionage by China.

In 2012, the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee released a report asking US companies to avoid using Huawei products because of cybersecurity concerns. In 2018, AT&T killed a deal with Huawei to sell its smartphones across America.

Between 2017 and 2018, as tensions between the country and the company rose, the Donald Trump administration restricted federal agencies like the Department of Defense from using the telecom giant's equipment.

In 2019, the US cracked down even further on Huawei, with former president Trump signing an executive order laying the groundwork to block it from selling equipment in the country. The blacklisting has since been expanded, and diplomatic tensions between China and the US have also ramped up.

In 2018, Meng Wanzhou, the CEO's daughter who is also Huawei's CFO, was detained in Canada on fraud and sanctions violation charges

Meng Wanzhou was detained in Canada and subsequently placed under house arrest on extradition request by the US DOJ under the indictment of bank and wire fraud. The US accused her of sidestepping sanctions on Iran by selling technologies through the company Skycom.

The CFO awaited extradition to the US for three years.

In 2021, she was released from house arrest and returned home to China as part of an agreement with the US Justice Department.

Huawei continues to step up its competition against the iPhone in China

As of early 2024, Apple lost its edge in China in smartphone sales, a major market, to local rivals like Huawei as iPhone sales declined.

Huawei's $960 Mate 60 Pro debuted in 2023 and wowed consumers and analysts as a viable alternative on the heels of an iPhone ban for Chinese government officials.

As if the Mate 60 wasn't enough, in 2024, Huawei introduced another series of smartphones called the Pura 70, starting at $760.

Huawei didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment before publication.