• I stayed in a cylindrical tiny home hotel in Germany during a European train trip in 2022.
• The 106-square-foot home made smarter use of space than any tiny home I've seen in the US.
• The European tiny home was two stories and less than half the size of the US tiny homes I've booked.

As a New Yorker who's rented several cramped apartments over the years, tiny homes are my inspiration.

Making the most of a minimal square footage requires some creativity. So when I travel, I often book compact accommodations to discover new space-saving hacks that might help me make the most of my own little dwelling.

From Florida and Maryland to Canada and Switzerland, I've stayed in several tiny Airbnbs around the world.

None of those homes utilized indoor space as efficiently as this tiny home hotel in Germany, which I found on Airbnb back in 2022.

I was looking for tiny stays in Germany when I found one with a unique, cylindrical shape that packed a lot inside, so I booked it for two nights for $140.

The Airbnb was part of a tiny home hotel in Neustrelitz, Germany, called Slube. The company designs minimal concrete "Slubes" for up to two people.

There are three types of Slubes: a one-story Basic, a two-story Home, and a Tower, which is two stories with a rooftop terrace. I booked a Home Slube.

It was less than half the size of any tiny home I'd stayed in before.

The 16-foot-tall tiny home with two floors was 106 square feet.

I checked in with a code sent to my phone rather than a physical key.

When I arrived by train from the airport in Berlin, I didn't see any employees at the tiny home hotel.

At first, I was confused, but then I checked my email. A message from Slube informed me I'd be staying in room five and could check in by myself.

Inside, the 53-square-foot bottom level had a bathroom on the right, a sitting area on the left, and a ladder to the second floor.

The sitting area had a foldout table that I could push against the wall to save space.

Across from a foldout table was a bench with two seat cushions instead of a couch.

There was enough space for me to store luggage beneath the benches.

This tiny home utilized more vertical space than those I've seen in the US.

There were hooks and storage cubbies above the bench, so I stored all my clothing and toiletries on the first floor.

I was impressed by the amenities packed into such a small room.

In the back right corner of the sitting area, there was a nook of built-in shelves storing a small coffee machine, a hair dryer, and a few dishes.

The bathroom had an efficient layout.

There was a curtain separating the shower head and sink from the toilet and storage space.

Even with two windows, I felt I had enough privacy.

The first-floor windows had a film over most of the glass, which allowed me to let natural light in without sacrificing my privacy.

After checking out the first level, I headed up the ladder to the second-floor bedroom.

I thought it was easy to climb, but it could be challenging for some.

There was a latched gate at the top of the ladder, which I imagine was built to keep people safe from falling.

Knowing I was securely fastened into the bed area made sleeping easier.

The bedroom was the same size as the living space and bathroom combined — 53 square feet.

The floor space was covered by a comfy, full-size bed. The pillows had the ideal ratio of fluff to firmness for my neck and head.

Above the bed was a mounted TV equipped with Netflix and other streaming services.

Before bed, I watched some of my favorite shows.

I used the lower platform on the far side of the bed as a nightstand.

It had easily accessible outlets, a pocket for the TV remote, and more space for my electronics and water bottle.

Above the bed, a large window opened so I could let the breeze into my room.

It had a blackout curtain for privacy and early morning light.

The Slube also had smart electricity that made my stay feel a tad luxurious.

I controlled the lights and temperature of each story from my phone.

I found it fascinating that this tiny home truly left no space unused, from the loft bed to the wall cubbies.

I can't stick a second story into my own rental, but the European tiny home still gave me inspiration for how I could make better use of my space, starting with vertical storage hacks.

• Multigenerational households are rising in popularity as families look for savings and caregiving support.
• Architects report in-law suites and multigenerational housing are popular demands from homeowners.
• The number of people living in multigenerational households has quadrupled since 1971.

Living with your parents isn't always the first option, but for Lindsey Gregory, it made the most sense. Not only are Gregory, her husband, their daughter, and her in-laws living under one roof, they bought a home together.

While some people view living with their parents as a last resort or a safety net, Gregory saw it as an opportunity to strengthen her family.

"For us, living this way was a choice," Gregory wrote in an essay for Business Insider. "No one was ill or unemployed. But when there has been a job loss or expensive home repairs are needed, we've been able to stay afloat."

Gregory is far from alone in choosing a multigenerational living arrangement. An American Institute of Architects (AIA) survey of more than 300 residential architecture firms found that in the third quarter of 2025, one of the most popular categories of home features was in-law suites and junior accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

Forty-six percent of respondents said that in-law suites and junior ADUs were increasing in popularity from the previous year — the largest percentage increase among the surveyed home features, which also included outdoor living space and multi-function rooms.

It's a trend that's been rising for years. A 2022 report from the Pew Research Center found that the number of people living in multigenerational households has quadrupled since 1971, reaching 59.7 million in March 2021. As of the report's publication, 18% of the US population was living in a multigenerational household.

While the Pew study noted that lower-income households are more likely to opt for multigenerational living, that's not always the case.

Content creator Lexi Poer spent $350,000 building a home for her mother that's connected to her and her husband's home in Roswell, Georgia.

"She very much wanted to make sure that she had all of the things she needed to live independently in her space, like somewhere to park her car and enter her home without having to come through our house, access to the outdoor space without having to enter our house, her own laundry room, her own kitchen," Poer told Business Insider in April.

Saving money isn't the only benefit of multigenerational living

The common assumption is that those who choose to live in multigenerational households are doing so to save money — which isn't far off, as 40% of those surveyed by Pew cited "financial issues" as their reason for multigenerational living.

But the leap into multigenerational living also often has caregiving benefits for both children and adults. Thirty-three percent of survey respondents said caregiving was a major reason for living with family members.

For Shawn Lentz, it was a bit of both. In 2024, he sold his house and bought a small manufactured home to place on his in-laws' 5-acre property so he could live there mortgage-free with his wife and teenage son.

"This wasn't some dreamy escape into the minimalist #vanlife trend," Lentz wrote in an essay for Business Insider. "In reality, we were desperate to be free from a mortgage, and we wanted to live closer to my in-laws so we could assist them as they age."

Genevieve Dahl, whose mother-in-law moved in with her, her husband, and their two children, said she benefits from having an extra adult around to help with daily responsibilities.

"Four months later, it's the best decision we've ever made," Dahl wrote in an essay for Business Insider. "My kids now have a full cheering section at their games. The house is spotless (she actually loves to clean). When we work late, dinner is waiting for us. She even bakes and freezes protein muffins so I don't skip breakfast."

For Brandi Spering, buying a house with her in-laws was a better option than moving them to a nursing home.

"While we weren't expecting the next chapter of our lives to look like this, we couldn't ignore how we would benefit: being surrounded by family, combining our incomes, having a chance to invest in property, and splitting the mortgage," Spering wrote in an essay for Business Insider.

According to the Pew survey, 30% of adults living in multigenerational households say the experience has been very positive, and 58% say it's convenient, while 54% say it's rewarding all or most of the time.

"There will always be a standard I hold, a responsibility I feel, and pride myself on; deciding to move in together means helping care for them," Spering wrote. "While I need to be diligent to step in whenever necessary, it doesn't mean it has to be without boundaries, for us all."

• Goldman Sachs' US equity chief shared advice for Gen Z entering the workplace.
• He said these workers should understand how their role fits into the firm's commercial engine.
• If you understand your role and how it contributes to the business, you can see how both evolve over time, he said.

For Gen Z starting out their careers, Goldman Sachs' US equity chief has one key tip: figure out how you fit into the company machine.

David Kostin, the firm's longtime partner and chief US equity strategist, who will be retiring this year, shared his advice for young workers in his final appearance on "Goldman Sachs Exchanges" this week.

"Think about one's role and how that fits into the broader business environment," he said.

"If you understand where you sit and your contributions to the commercial process, then you can see how that changes over time," he added.

Kostin, who joined Goldman in 1994, credits decades of conversations with hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, and pension giants for shaping his own way of thinking.

His advice to juniors reflects the same idea: technical skills matter, but judgment comes from a deep understanding of clients, markets, and how your work influences both.

Focus on tasks, not titles

Gen Z is entering the workforce at a challenging time. AI is disrupting the traditional pathways into white-collar work, and experts say young employees must adapt in different ways.

James Ransom, a research fellow at University College London, told Business Insider last month that Gen Z should stop chasing job titles and instead zero in on the tasks AI still struggles with — judgment, oversight, leadership, and persuasion.

In his view, the standout young workers will be those who can supervise and scale AI while demonstrating real, measurable impact.

Wharton professor Ethan Mollick, one of the most influential voices in the AI revolution, took that thinking a step further.

Because AI evolves so quickly, he said last month, many AI skills become obsolete almost as soon as workers learn them.

Instead, young job seekers should focus on what tasks they are uniquely good at, and let AI handle the parts they struggle with.

He called this "task distribution," saying that success now depends on being able to judge AI's output, give clear instructions, and pair deep topic expertise with broad knowledge — including in the humanities.

Quentin Nason, a 35-year finance veteran and former managing director of investment banking, offered a more structural warning.

With the first rung of the career ladder collapsing as graduate schemes shrink, he said in October that young people should look beyond traditional finance hubs to the next wave of automation, robotics, blockchain, and drones.

"Rather than chasing yesterday's jobs, chase tomorrow's," he said.

• Netflix is buying Warner Bros., adding HBO and major franchises like "Harry Potter" to its content slate.
• Netflix said the deal has a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, its biggest ever acquisition.
• The deal boosts Netflix's studio power, expanding its production capacity and theatrical output.

Netflix is making the biggest acquisition in its history — and one of the largest ever in entertainment — announcing Friday that it has struck a deal to acquire Warner Bros. from Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) for an enterprise value of $82.7 billion.

The cash-and-stock deal will bring together Netflix's world-dominant streaming platform with Warner Bros.' century-old studio, HBO, HBO Max, and some of the most iconic franchises in film and television—from "Harry Potter" and "Game of Thrones" to "Casablanca," "The Big Bang Theory," and the entire DC Universe.

The acquisition is expected to close after WBD spins off its Global Networks division into a separate publicly traded company, Discovery Global, a process expected to happen in the third quarter of 2026.

This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.

• My dad died 15 months ago, and it still makes no sense to me.
• Nothing has really eased the grief.
• However, picking up one of his hobbies — painting — has helped me feel closer to him.

It's been 15 months since my dad, out with friends for a normal Sunday cycle, never came home. This can't be an essay detailing how I've overcome my grief — I haven't. This also won't be an essay that helps make sense of the senselessness of losing someone decades before they should have gone. It still makes no sense to me. Instead, I'll write about art. My dad's art. And mine, new though it is.

My dad was (the past tense still prompts a little spasm in my fingers, the temptation to hit 'backspace' and replace it with 'is') a doctor. He had thousands of patients who adored him, but his work was just a single facet of everything he did. He was an astronomer. A kite-surfer. A chess genius. And an artist. One day, my dad picked up a paintbrush and started teaching himself art, using a bit of YouTube and a lot of trial and error.

His work ended up on show in art galleries. He sold prints of his art. Anything was on the table for him: landscapes, historic monuments, people, animals…he dabbled in it all. When I'd come by for a visit, I'd spy his latest work in progress on the dining room table. It never occurred to me to ask him to teach me. I was useless at art and hadn't held a brush since my junior high teacher told me I had lots of passion but little ability.

Something shifted, and I wanted to create art, too

The desire to learn about art started with hoarding my dad's paintings. He had a stack of hundreds of them. My mom and I sat together, choosing our favorites to frame in our homes. I chose his painting of Eilean Donan in Scotland and the Colosseum in Rome, two places I loved visiting. I also chose a beachscape with two silhouette figures that reminded me of my dad and me.

I sat and stared at them for months. Each painting was a slice of time from my dad's life. His hands held each page. His brushstrokes made each mark. His eyes chose each color. I've always kept a mental list of the things that need to be snatched from my home if there's a fire. Dad's paintings are now top of that list.

Two months ago, I saw an ad for a watercolor painting workshop near me. 'Beginners Welcome.' I went alone and spent three hours painting a dahlia. I found another workshop across town a few weeks later and painted a Tuscan house among poppies. I then found a two-day oil painting workshop and went to that, too, enjoying the challenge of a different medium.

My new hobby has helped me feel more connected to my dad

Usually, when I pick up a hobby, I demand immediate excellence or abandon it. Painting is different. I'm learning slowly. I'm using the expertise of others, in person where possible and online when not. I'm making mistakes, but I'm making them holding my dad's brushes (the salvageable ones — he wasn't particularly diligent when it came to washing them).

I read that losing a parent is a sense of homesickness that never goes away. It's the best description of grief that I've found. Picking up my dad's hobby creates a tiny tether to him. It doesn't remove the homesickness. It doesn't ease the grief — if anything, it agitates it, swirling it around like cleaning a paintbrush in water.

But sometimes that's exactly what I want. I want to sit in the grief. I hold his brushes, I listen to his playlist, and I do the thing he loved doing, aware that I'll never have the privilege of doing it beside him. In doing so, his hand guides mine. Together, we make art.

• The European Union has hit Elon Musk's X with a $140 million fine.
• The bloc said the social media platform's blue checkmark system exposes users to scams.
• Musk received support from US Vice President JD Vance, who warned the EU to stop "attacking American companies."

Elon Musk is set for another battle with the European Union after the bloc fined his social media site X.

The EU said on Friday it had issued a fine of €120 million ($140 million) to X over a number of violations, including the "deceptive design" of the site's blue checkmarks.

X did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier on Friday, Musk reposted an X post from US Vice President JD Vance, who warned the EU against fining Musk's company and said the bloc should avoid "attacking American companies over garbage."

This is a developing story. Check back for further updates.

• With a family of 6 and aunts, uncles, and cousins to buy for, the holiday season can get expensive.
• Over the years, I've developed a few rules to help keep Christmas meaningful and affordable.
• We follow a four-gift rule, focus on budgeted exchanges, and highlight thoughtful traditions.

Each year, our Christmas season gets increasingly expensive. There are six of us in our family, and then, of course, there are aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, teachers, and bus drivers that we also like to show our appreciation to. The list goes on and on.

As financially savvy as we try to be, we've found that sticking to a few simple gift-giving rules is our best bet to avoid excess spending during the happiest season.

Cousins exchange gifts with a budget in mind

I absolutely love watching my nephews and niece open their holiday gifts, many of which were picked out by my four kids. However, with so many kids to buy for, this cousin gift exchange quickly added up in the past.

To keep things manageable, my siblings and I usually plan for our kids to exchange a set item — one year, the kids all gave books to each other — or stick to a budget of $10 per kid. Each cousin gets one gift from the other family, so we're able to keep costs down.

My kids love the challenge of finding the perfect gift for their younger cousins, all while keeping a budget in mind. It becomes like a game to them in the store.

We follow a four-gift rule for our own kids

For Christmas, we give each of our four kids four gifts to open, following our family tradition of the four-gift rule. They get something they want, something they need, something they can wear, and something they will read.

For example, one kiddo will get the latest graphic novel, sports socks, an earring set, and a small box of their favorite snacks. This not only makes holiday shopping easier, but also ensures that the kids receive items they actually want and use.

The four-gift rule also instills some equality between the kids, as well as they know what to expect.

Our kids exchange gifts among each other

During Thanksgiving break, we put our kids' four names in a bowl, and they each draw one name. They look at their sibling's wish list and choose one item to buy using their own allowance.

Once the items arrive, the sibling wraps the gift and places it under the tree. This is less expensive, and usually results in one nicer gift per child compared to buying three cheaper gifts to spread out among siblings. We love this tradition as it requires thoughtfulness and generosity.

Sometimes the kids make handmade gifts, usually cards, for me and their dad.

We enjoy holiday traditions that don't involve gifting

Some of our kids' favorite traditions are free or nearly free and we lean into these heavily during the holiday season.

We all love decorating our Christmas trees. Yes, we have more than one. They also enjoy choosing which cookies to bake and share: peanut-butter reindeer and wedding cookies are our usual favorites.

One kid likes helping their dad hang up Christmas lights above the garage that we always leave up well past Christmas. We also love a good popcorn and movie night, often enjoying Christmas movies from my own childhood.

We give to others

My kids each save 10% of their allowance throughout the year, and we collectively decide what to do with those earnings in December.

In the past, we have shopped for a family in need or children in foster care. One year, we purchased new bedding for an organization that builds beds for children.

This year, we plan to stock free food boxes around our town where anyone can take the food items they need.

This tradition is a beautiful reminder that giving is just as beautiful, if not more so, than receiving.

• A Transatlantic Delta flight nearly reached Edinburgh before turning around.
• It diverted to the Irish capital, Dublin, after circling Edinburgh for around 20 minutes.
• Edinburgh Airport halted all flights due to an IT issue with its air traffic control provider.

A Delta Air Lines flight to Scotland had to divert after an IT issue halted operations at its destination.

Delta Flight 208 took off from New York on Thursday evening and was supposed to land at Edinburgh Airport around 9 a.m. local time.

However, after a six-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean, the Boeing 767 then spent about 20 minutes circling just south of the Scottish capital.

It then changed course for Ireland, landing in Dublin just after 10 a.m.

"Due to an IT issue with our air traffic control provider, no flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport," the airport said in a statement on X.

Data from Flightradar24 shows 11 flights bound for Edinburgh have been diverted, mostly to nearby Glasgow.

At around 10:45 a.m. local time, less than an hour after the Delta flight landed in Dublin, flights resumed from Edinburgh Airport.

Delta could not immediately be reached for comment outside US working hours.

Have your travel plans been affected by the Edinburgh airport IT outage? Get in touch with this reporter via email at psyme@businessinsider.com or Signal at syme.99.

• NFL Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton has a very simple rule for his employees.
• It's why, at 85, he still insists on interviewing everyone who works for his companies.
• Tarkenton said on the field or off, teamwork is still a critical asset for any company.

NFL legend Fran Tarkenton said the same issues that can kill team chemistry in the locker room can also hobble a company, which is why he insists on interviewing each of his employees.

"If you don't have the right people, you can't make it in your business, my business, and you can't make it in the NFL," the NFL quarterback-turned-founder of tech company Tarkenton told Business Insider.

Relaying a conversation with then-Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, Tarkenton said over a decade ago, he advised Carroll to cut a superstar player who was causing drama in the locker room.

"I said, if you have 40-man roster — back then we had 40-man rosters — and you have 39 All-Pro players and you have one asshole, the asshole will take over," Tarkenton said during a Tuesday interview in New York.

Tarkenton, who is CEO of his Atlanta-based company, said he considers himself a lifelong entrepreneur, dating back to a newspaper route he had at the age of 7. He played in the NFL in the 1960s and 1970s, setting records as a star quarterback.

Tarkenton's career occurred before the sport's explosion in popularity and the lucrative contracts that followed. He worked side jobs during off-seasons to make more money. After he retired, he served as a commentator on "Monday Night Football" and co-hosted ABC's "That's Incredible!," where he did a TV spot on a then 5-year-old Tiger Woods.

All of this work, Tarkenton said, was so he could reinvest the money in private ventures, which spanned from a partnership with IBM to the recent launch of pipIQ, an AI startup focused on small businesses, with a particular emphasis on maintaining LLMs in a secure environment.

Tarkenton, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986, said that he makes sure to spend at least 15 minutes with everyone from top-level executives to those just starting out. He said over the course of a year, he'll speak with 500 or more people.

"This practice stems from one of my seven business maxims: people have to talk to people," he wrote in a follow-up email. "No one succeeds alone. Communication and collaboration help us learn new ideas, strengthen our thinking, and discover better ways to do things."

No matter the line of work, Tarkenton said, it simply won't do if someone can't get along with those around them. That's why, even at 85, he insists on meeting applicants who want to work for his Atlanta-based companies.

"I want to see who they are," he said. "If they're a genius and they're not the right kind of people, it doesn't work."

• Citadel CTO Umesh Subramanian said he personally calls top candidates, including recent college grads.
• The calls have won many candidates over, but occasionally show they're not the right fit, he said.
• While the hedge fund talent war isn't new, AI has made recruiting even more competitive.

Hedge funds are locked in a fierce talent war, shelling out pay packages worth tens of millions to secure top talent — and that means executives are going all-in to woo prospective hires, even at the entry-level.

Umesh Subramanian, Citadel's chief technology officer, leads the tech teams that power the firm's investment, research, and risk-management platforms. He told Business Insider that he personally calls some of the most in-demand candidates during the decision-making process to see where their head is at. That includes not just senior-level recruits, but also recent grads, he said.

"I get on the call with them to understand how they're going to make the decision — what is driving their decisions," Subramanian said. "And oftentimes we win those candidates."

In general, the CTO said he looks for four qualities in top candidates: intellectual curiosity; a passion for winning as a team; an interest in commercial applications and not just theory; and a strong engineering background and education.

While Subramanian directly contacts some of the most sought-after candidates, those conversations haven't always resulted in them getting hired. The CTO said that sometimes the phone calls have led him to suggest they look elsewhere because another company may be more aligned with the role they describe being interested in.

"I've had a couple of conversations where I've said, 'Look, I think you should take the other job,'" He said he thinks Citadel is a great and "highly selective" company at which to start your career, but that "it is not for everyone."

Ongoing talent wars

Subramanian isn't the only executive to personally reach out to top talent in the interview process. OpenAI's Sam Altman has been similarly been said to call candidates to convince them to join the tech company, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously shown up in email chains to recruit talent, as well as reportedly hosted top candidates at his home for meals.

While the talent war at hedge funds isn't new, the scramble for AI talent has added another layer of competition to the hiring process and raised the stakes for recruiting the right people — many whom are highly sought after by traditional tech giants.

Banks like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America have allocated billions to their tech budgets, with a portion of that investment going into hiring.

Subramanian said he has always been personally engaged in recruiting, and it's part of the company's culture for executives to be highly involved in seeking out top talent.

Citadel, specifically, is among the most competitive hedge funds. In 2025, the hedge fund and its sister firm, Citadel Securities, accepted just 0.4% of applicants for its summer training program, a record-low acceptance rate. Together, the two firms received 108,000 applications — a 20% increase from the previous year.

"Exceptional talent, world-class talent, is worth fighting for with everything that you got," Subramanian said.