Tag: News

• Charlotte Chaze is a 33-year-old former data analyst and researcher. 
• Landing a tech job in a non-tech company allowed her to achieve her dream life, with a high salary, flexibility, and stability. 
• Now, she helps others break into the tech industry. 

When I was 28, I realized my career wasn't worth it.

I was making $28,000 a year and working 50- to 60-hour weeks as a researcher in academia. Horrifically low salaries are normalized in the industry, so I subconsciously believed I didn't deserve to make more. I felt guilty when I first realized I wanted more money and real work-life balance.

One day, I had an epiphany. I realized getting my boss' job was the best possible trajectory for my career. But he was working considerably more hours than me and wasn't making what I'd consider fair pay. I didn't want that. I wanted to make enough money to go from surviving to thriving.

Landing a data analyst job helped me achieve the life I had dreamed of

I started looking at job boards and saw a ton of data analyst positions, with an average starting salary of around $70,000, in 2018. I used free websites to teach myself data analytics, and then I started applying for jobs in Philadelphia because I wanted to leave Delaware, where I'd been living for two years.

Within a couple of months, I landed an analytics associate position at a consulting firm in Philadelphia and moved there.

Suddenly I was bringing in a $70,000 salary — over twice what I was making before — which brought on an overwhelmingly positive lifestyle change. I could afford to live in the city, buy whatever I wanted (within reason), and finally start saving money for my future.

My salary increased to $158,000 over the course of four years

While my pay had increased, my hours were still crazy because I was at a consulting firm. I realized that most of us aren't saving the world at our jobs — we're just helping our corporate overlords make more money — so there was no reason to dedicate that many hours to work.

After a few months, I started applying to other data analyst positions, specifically looking for positions at typical corporations instead of at consulting firms.

I landed a $90,000 senior analyst job at Comcast. I immediately saw a drastic change in my hours; I was working only 35 to 40 hours a week, and I didn't have to have a single thought about work all weekend.

With the extra time, I started traveling more. I squeezed in quick weekend trips to take my dog on really cool hikes and brought my little sister to Disney World for the first time. I was finally able to start going out to restaurants and exploring the city, which enabled me to start making local friends.

Within two years, I got a promotion that bumped my salary to $104,000. I was able to buy a nice car and then my own home at age 30.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, I landed a job as senior manager of advanced analytics at AT&T making a base salary of $158,000.

Making the shift into a tech role helped me achieve a life I'd only dreamed of.

I don't feel that working in Big Tech is worth it

When people think about working a tech job, many think of Big Tech companies like Tesla and Meta, which offer the highest salaries and have a certain air of prestige.

In my opinion, working in Big Tech companies is not worth it because of the incredible downsides like mass layoffs and long work hours. Sure, these companies offer great perks like free meals, beer on tap, and gourmet coffee machines, but in my opinion, these perks are scams — just a way to keep you working longer. Would you rather have a free dinner on campus because you worked until 8 p.m., or leave work at 5 p.m. and eat whatever you want?

This is why I recommend that people search for tech jobs specifically at non-tech companies, such as Home Depot, Kroger, or whatever company owns the last store you walked into — they all hire tech roles.

Non-tech companies give you the best of both worlds:

• High salaries: Although they might not be quite as high as Big Tech roles, the salaries at non-tech companies can be super competitive, especially if you focus on non-tech companies in the Fortune 500.
• More flexibility: Working at a Big Tech company means being in a fast-paced and competitive environment, and that results in long hours. But when you work at a non-tech company, 35- to 40-hour weeks are normal and the workload is more conducive to real work-life balance.
• Less competitive: The Googles of the world are super competitive because they pay the most and you get bragging rights; but even talented, hardworking people with years of experience have difficulty getting jobs there. When you apply for tech jobs at non-tech companies, you're not competing against people who are trying to be the best in the world.

Anyone can get into the tech industry

Once I broke into tech, my life changed dramatically. So, in 2022, I left my job at AT&T and started Break Into Tech, a small business that helps people get their first entry-level data analyst jobs — just like I did.

There's a huge demand for data analysts, with big data analytics being the technology expected to drive the most job creation in the next five years, according to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2023. That's why the job pays so well, even in entry-level roles. And data analyst jobs exist at every big company in every industry.

I advise anyone hoping to land their first data analyst job at a non-tech company to start looking at their current job as an asset and find where it overlaps with data analyst jobs.

For example, healthcare experience gives you a leg up when you apply to healthcare analytics jobs because you're familiar with the data. Find where your current experience will give you an edge and leverage that.

Of course, it's essential to develop technical skills as well. Spend 20 minutes a day learning and practicing skills like SQL and Tableau online, and you'll be ready for an entry-level job in a few months. The imposter syndrome will dissipate when you get your job offer, and you'll be wondering why you didn't do this sooner.

Charlotte Chaze is the founder of Break Into Tech. She is an advocate for modern workers' rights and has helped thousands of people with no prior experience land their first data analytics jobs.

If you landed a tech job without a technical background and would like to share your story, email Jane Zhang at janezhang@businessinsider.com.

• Ana Julia Gomes, a prop master in Berlin, supplements her income with freelance gigs and blogging.
• Gomes turned to Fiverr and Upwork for graphic design and web design work during the writer's strike.
• Now, her side blog, The Check Stand, monetizes gift ideas and earns her a sustainable income.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ana Julia Gomes, a 37-year-old prop master and set dresser based in Berlin. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I was born in Cuba, grew up in Miami, and moved to New York City to study film. For the past 12 years, I've worked in the film industry. Five years ago, I moved to Berlin to work as a prop master and set dresser with people I knew from film school.

I've worked on John Wick, Jessica Jones, and The Americans. It's not a 9-to-5 job. I could be on a three-month film set or a nine-month series set and then go months without a call. Many people in my line of work have side businesses to supplement their income between projects.

I know colleagues who do carpentry, DJ, or even run a hot sauce brand. I freelance and started a blog called The Check Stand about gifting. These side hustles get me through when I'm not working on set.

I started supplementing my income with Fiverr and Upwork

When the writer's strike was announced last May, most people initially thought it would only last a few weeks, but it lasted until September.

My last project was working on Constellation for Apple TV+, and that finished in February 2023. I'm still waiting for the phone to ring for a new series.

I'm pretty good at graphic design, so I decided to freelance. I created profiles on Fiverr and Upwork.

I started working on YouTube thumbnails and event flyers for the music industry. My most requested package was flyers plus animated visuals that could be projected during DJ sets. I make between $150 and $300 per project.

I then expanded into web design

After I had done a few graphic design jobs, a client asked me if I knew web design. I was honest and said no, but they offered me some cash, so I taught myself how to do it.

You don't need a proficient developer or UX designer to build a basic website. WordPress, Wix, and Webflow are very intuitive and offer a variety of customizable templates.

I learned about monetizing blogging through the same client. This client ran about five or six blogs, which provided their income. I had started a blog years ago, but it was just for friends and family.

I always had good ideas for gifts

For years, friends called me a 'gift guru' and messaged me to ask for ideas for anniversaries and birthdays. In 2019, I started The Check Stand to share my recommendations.

Once I learned about monetization, I began posting more frequently. My goal was to offer a gift concierge as a service.

I grouped gifts into categories, wrote a blog post, and listed recommended products with Amazon and Etsy affiliate links. Both programs have easy online application processes, and I was accepted.

Many of my gift ideas come from daily life. For example, a friend helped repair my dishwasher, so I put together "gift ideas for makers and tinkers." After picking up my teen nephew from football practice, I thought of "gifts to encourage self-grooming in young men."

It was not an overnight success and took time to build

When I started focusing on traffic, sometimes there would be just two views a day, and they were from me. I began spending a lot of time on Facebook and Reddit groups for parents and gamers.

I started posting in groups and asking for gift ideas to write blog posts about. I'm active in groups for locals, millennials, DINKS, moms, deals, and retirees. I try to carefully balance being active without being overly promotional.

My traffic increased once I started posting in these groups, and I began making around $50 daily. It's not money I would make on a film set, but it was something. I decided to step it up and learn about search engine optimization and running ads.

I now earn enough from the blog to support myself

I try to publish three blog posts a week. I spend about two days researching and writing and half a day making the covers. I spend the rest of the week on Reddit, Pinterest, Facebook, and TikTok.

It pays when people get to know you on social media sites, but it takes time to foster. It's a dance between being active and not being annoying.

I make an average of $2,000-$3,000 monthly and more during the holiday season. There was a big spike in impressions in November and December, but I only made around $1,500 in February. Keywords like Valentine's Day are hard to compete against when facing bigger blogs and sites.

One strategy I've found is that being negative brings the most traffic

I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that I've sometimes used unconventional tactics to boost my traffic. I occasionally take a negative approach and go for more provocative topics, like asking for "passive-aggressive white elephant gift ideas for a family member or coworker you hate."

These types of questions generate a lot of engagement. I've also provoked small fights. For example, in the DINKS group, I've asked things like "Are Christmas mornings lonelier as a DINK? Isn't the joy of Christmas family, presents, and kids?" If I see fit to link to my site, I do it, but not always. I try to be as organic as possible.

I don't use this strategy often. Traffic to the site generated this way doesn't always mean conversions, and ultimately, I want to provide honest value.

I'll continue working in film for as long as I get opportunities. In the meantime, I'll be researching and suggesting gifts. I enjoy it, I'm good at it, and it's a nice gig that earns me enough money to get by.

• American Airlines is regaining my trust after a bad experience flying home from Colombia in 2021.
• My recent flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to New York in economy was comfortable and on time.
• The Boeing 737-800 is retrofitted with tablet holders instead of TV screens. I prefer it that way.

I'll be honest: American Airlines hasn't been my go-to airline since a last-minute flight cancellation left me stranded overnight in Colombia in 2021 with little help from customer service.

The communication was lacking from start to finish. There was no clear indication of my rights to a hotel, and I never found out why the flight was canceled in the first place.

Nevertheless, the carrier has been slowly regaining my trust.

I recently flew in economy on an American Boeing 737-800 from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to New York's LaGuardia Airport.

Like the handful I've taken since the 2021 fiasco, the flight was perfectly on time, and I found the communication has definitely improved.

And, although not a fan-favorite, I actually prefer American's retrofitted narrowbody cabin compared to competitors.

My journey started at American's giant hub, the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

American had dozens of kiosks and counters available, but I went straight to security as I only had a carry-on and checked in online.

From security, an automated train transports passengers between gates and terminals.

I was through TSA PreCheck and onboard the Boeing 737 within about 25 minutes of arriving.

I've noticed the TSA PreCheck lines getting longer as we approach the summer months.

I waited about 15 minutes, so I recommend budgeting extra time to clear security, especially at big airports like Dallas/Fort Worth.

The plane offered all basics: 172 seats in 3×3 rows, each with power, a tray table, acceptable padding, and an adjustable headrest.

The aircraft has 16 first-class recliners, 24 main-cabin-extra seats with more legroom, and 132 standard economy seats.

I was seated in 32B, a middle seat in the second-to-last row.

Regular coach offers 30 inches of pitch, which was fine for my five-foot-three-inch self but likely cramped for taller travelers.

I'm small and fit into most airline seats, so I had plenty of legroom.

Taller people may want to upgrade if they can afford it or book an airline offering more legroom, like the 31-32 inches of pitch on Delta Air Lines' 737-800 or JetBlue Airways' at least 32 inches on its family of A320s.

The legroom results from American's cabin retrofit project meant to standardize its inflight experience.

Known as "Project Oasis," American retrofitted many of its narrowbody Airbus and Boeing planes with uniform cabins. This simplifies the fleet, and the extra seats generate more revenue — but at the expense of legroom.

According to The Points Guy, the 737-800s were done in 2021, and the Airbus A321s followed.

I understand the frustration of American's cattle-like economy cabin, but I don't think the design is a total bust.

I've recently flown on American, Delta, and United in economy on their narrowbody planes, and the most noticeable difference is the inflight entertainment options.

Instead of TV screens, American offers inflight entertainment streamed to a personal device that can be propped on a seatback holder.

Tablet holders are something I have started seeing more on airlines.

For example, Breeze Airways has the holders on its fleet of Airbus A220s, while renderings of Southwest Airlines' new cabin show seatback tablet holders.

This is common across American's narrowbody fleet and differs from Delta and United's TV-equipped airplanes.

United Airlines, for example, is welcoming brand new narrowbody aircraft fit with seatback screens and Bluetooth capabilities.

Delta boasts a similar strategy, saying in March that it "leads the industry with over 161,000 seatback screens across more than 850 aircraft."

I travel with a Kindle Fire 10, which fit into the slot with a little bit of stretch to spare.

American did not immediately respond to a request from Business Insider regarding the holder's size or availability on planes.

I'm unsure if larger tablets like the iPad Pro series would fit. Regional jets and many of its older-generation narrowbodies don't have tablet holders.

I prefer the tablet holder because it creates a better viewing angle for people, like myself, who bring our own inflight intertainment.

When I fly, I like to catch up on the various reality TV shows that airlines typically don't stream, like Big Brother, Survivor, Deal or No Deal Island, The Circle, etc.

I typically have to set the tablet on the tray table to watch my pre-downloaded content, but the holder location on the seatback is much more comfortable.

I may be an outlier, however, as many friends and family say they prefer having that inflight screen for convenience.

Some travelers don't have a tablet to watch shows on, or they don't like to use the smaller screen on their phone.

For those reasons, a guaranteed inflight television on a different carrier would be better for those travelers.

Aside from the tablet holder, my American flight was smooth and comfortable.

I browsed American's inflight entertainment options, which were comparable to Delta, United, and Southwest.

I'm sure I could find something if I didn't have my own pre-downloaded movies and shows.

I was particuarly happy with the T-Mobile WiFi, which allowed me to stream stuff I couldn't download.

The Paramount+ app on my Kindle doesn't let me download episodes (maybe there's a fix I haven't found yet), so I use my iPhone for things like Survivor.

However, because the WiFi was so good, I was able to just stream it right from the app on my Kindle.

The T-Mobile partnership is much better than the carrier's paid and ad WiFi options.

Unlike Delta or JetBlue's complimentary internet, American offers a limited free WiFi session if you watch a short ad. On my flight, the session was 20 minutes and then shut off.

The strategy is likely to show people what the WiFi is like and entice them to buy a flight pass, but the up to $20 price for internet on my trip may be a little steep for some travelers.

Overall, the fast WiFi, the tablet holder, and on-time arrival made for a solid three-hour journey to New York.

As someone who prioritizes convenience and price over airline loyalty, I wouldn't be worried about booking American after my recent flight.

Still far from perfect, American's reliability and customer service have improved since my 2021 fiasco.

I've had low expectations for American since 2021, but they're improving thanks to new customer service tools and a better focus on consistency and proactivity, American's VP of customer experience, Kim Cisek, told BI in an interview.

For example, I got an email more than 24 hours before departure looking for volunteers to take a different flight.

American told BI during a tour of its dispatch center in mid-May that it has been building its system with better protections against disruptions — like preemptively remedying oversold flights well before everyone is already at the gate.

The gate agent also proactively told customers in groups 8 and 9 that we would be checking carry-ons as the flight was completely full.

The announcement came before boarding, giving everyone time to organize their items or talk to the agent in case there was a problem.

I noticed boarding wasn't impacted by all of the gate-checked bags, and luckily, my suitcase was small enough to fit under the seat, so I was allowed to take it on.

However, I'm still holding out for one improvement — disruption transparency.

While American has built systems to better manage and communicate things like misconnects, weather-related cancellations, and oversold flights, it still isn't fully transparent about the reason for flight disruptions.

United, for instance, tells travelers the exact reason for a delay or cancellation, whether it be maintenance or weather — making it easier to know your rights as a passenger.

Cisek said the company is setting the foundation for its communication efforts, noting the chat function it has launched to ease flight changes.

"If we were to come out right now with messaging and it doesn't land, it could get confusing, so we are trying to be thoughtful in how we build up to it," she said. "But I know our customers want it, and it's on the table and something we want to look at and introduce the right way."

• Over 100 basic income pilots in the US have offered no-strings-attached cash payments to low-income families. 
• Aimed at combating poverty, GBI faces political challenges and funding constraints.
• But pilots' success could create momentum for wider-spread programs, even at the state level.

Michael Tubbs wants to turn basic-income pilot programs into long-term policy — and the movement may be making progress.

The 2019 pilot Tubbs launched as the mayor of Stockton, California, at the time offered 125 people $500 a month for two years. It's often credited as part of the first of a wave of over 100 guaranteed basic income pilots that have launched across the US since then in cities from Durham, North Carolina, to Birmingham and the Bay Area.

"It was every single thing that I prayed for," a Chicago participant, who used her GBI money to secure housing, told Business Insider.

Basic income has become a trending strategy to combat poverty in cities nationwide. The pilots typically offer participants cash payments of $100 to $2,000 for one to five years. They differ from traditional social services like SNAP, Medicaid, or rental assistance because the programs place no requirements on how participants spend their money. Instead, families have the agency to choose what they need most.

Participants in programs like Stockton's have reported using their cash payments to pay rent, buy groceries, afford prescriptions, drop second jobs, pay off debt, or support their children's education.

"My life was always just a couple hundred dollars short," a San Antonio participant recently told BI. "For the first time, I can breathe."

Tubbs — who has since become the founder and chair of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, a network of local leaders that advocate for GBI — said cities have "piloted themselves to a conclusion:" basic income works.

Now, he is looking toward the future.

"We have the data set, now it's about political will," Tubbs told BI.

Indeed, politics is one of the biggest threats to more widespread GBI, along with budget concerns. But, amid skyrocketing costs of living, nearly half of Americans are struggling paycheck to paycheck. Basic-income pilots in San Antonio, Denver, Seattle, and more have shown that GBI is a way to help low-income families build a stronger financial future — even if the aid is temporary.

Following a wave of city-level programs, community leaders and state legislatures are gearing up to take the movement to the next level.

"This is about yourself and your neighbors," Tubbs said. "And this is a way to make sure that we live in a civilized place where everyone has a floor."

It may also be possible to implement basic income-inspired policies beyond local programs. In fact, states like California and New Mexico are already trying. State-level policies could help ensure sustainable program funding and allow basic income to reach even more families.

These policies are likely to face barriers in state legislatures and budgets, but experts across the country are working on solutions.

New Mexico and California are case studies in state-level basic income

New Mexico and California are leading state-level basic income efforts and provide insight into potential longer-term policies.

In New Mexico, 330 low-income immigrant families across the state were given $500 a month for a year beginning in February 2022. Fifty randomly selected families had their cash payments extended for an additional six months. Results from the program show participants, who had mixed household citizenship status, used the money to pay for housing, and their children saw improved educational outcomes.

Marcela Díaz, executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido — the economic justice organization that administered the pilot — said the program allowed basic income to reach mixed-status immigrant families who are often left out of government assistance programs because of their citizenship status. The state-level scope of the program also helped more families in rural areas see benefits, she said.

"We thought: 'let's put together a pilot and see how it how these folks that are often excluded from all of these other cash benefits systems — that the rest of us are not excluded from — use that funding. How does it help stabilize their families?'" Díaz told BI.

California, too, has continued to be a national leader in basic-income research. In 2021, the state pledged $35 million for more GBI pilots over five years. This follows a series of basic-income programs directed toward low-income families, students, foster youth, and people experiencing homelessness that have already been piloted across the state in the wake of Stockton's success.

"The lessons from those pilots are infusing the whole ecosystem of support," she said. "People are really seeing the power of those pilots, and the power of giving people money and trusting them," Teri Olle, director for Economic Security California, told BI.

The success of these programs is leading to legislation. A state-funded pilot cash program for people enrolled in workforce training programs passed in the New Mexico House in February.

A bill is also being heard in the California Senate that would provide guaranteed income for students experiencing homelessness beginning in August 2025.

Olle said there is much more "momentum" for basic income than there was five years ago. Even if future aid programs differ from direct cash assistance, she said lawmakers can learn a lot from GBI's success.

"This is why putting pen to paper, and moving from pilot to policy, is such important work," Olle said.

Budget limitations and Republican opposition to basic-income programs

Basic income is being challenged across the US by Republican lawmakers, who have called the programs "socialist" and say cash payments could make participants too reliant on government assistance.

The Arizona legislature is hearing a bill that could ban GBI, and South Dakota Republicans are hoping to prohibit all local governments from offering basic income. Iowa lawmakers banned GBI across the state in April.

"Is money a birthright now?" John Gillette, a representative in Arizona, previously told BI. "Because I think the Founding Fathers would say that is very contrary to our capitalist system and encouraging people to work."

In Harris County, Texas, a GBI program was challenged by state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who called it "unconstitutional." Although participants were scheduled to receive their first payments on April 24, Paxton's lawsuit placed a temporary block on the program until it undergoes further review by the state Supreme Court.

Limited budgets could also hinder future basic-income programs. Most current GBI programs are funded through a combination of philanthropy, state tax dollars, and federal programs like the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that is allocated to cities and states for post-pandemic economic recovery.

ARPA funds have been used to partially or fully fund most US basic-income pilots so far, but funds are set to expire. States and local governments must obligate all funds by the end of December 2024 and spend the money by December 2026.

According to Pew Charitable Trusts, budget deficits are growing in many states, which could make additional GBI funding difficult to approve. While philanthropy and nonprofit work have been central to basic-income pilots, they are not always a long-term or large-scale funding solution.

GBI can target the neediest populations, but it also has a 'community effect'

Basic-income programs are already getting creative about how to make the biggest impact with limited funding. More GBI programs are electing to focus on specific groups of participants, like low-income parents with children and foster youth. By focusing on these specific groups of participants, programs can direct money that already exists in state and federal budgets toward basic income.

Tubbs also said this focused cash assistance allows municipalities to address other issues, like infant and maternal mortality rates or childhood poverty.

In Flint, Michigan, for example, the Rx Kids program is offering pregnant mothers a $1,500 lump sum payment in addition to $500 monthly during their baby's first year. The program is funded through the Temporary Aid to Needy Families Program (TANF), an existing federal cash assistance program for low-income families. The cash payments are available to all new mothers in the city, no strings attached.

"It's super efficient — you can administer it really effectively," US Country Director for GiveDirectly Dustin Palmer said. A nonprofit, GiveDirectly has helped administer many US basic-income pilots.

While the child tax credit is not a GBI program, Palmer also called it a "compliment" to other cash assistance families might receive. The credit offers families thousands of dollars in tax breaks if they have dependent children. An expanded version of the credit passed in the House of Representatives in January, but is still stalled in the Senate.

Flexible funding programs like COVID stimulus checks, ARPA, and child tax credits let states innovate new programs that address poverty, Shafeka Hashash, associate director of Guaranteed Income at the Economic Security Project, told BI. There's a reason basic income has "spread like wildfire," she said.

"It opened the door for states to be able to demonstrate guaranteed income's effectiveness, and for the federal government to take notice," Hashash added.

Hashah said every community and family's circumstances are different. However, guaranteed income has already been shown to have "far-reaching" impacts, helping families improve their housing situations, educational outcomes, job security, and quality of life.

"I wish that more people understood that guaranteed income has so much more than just an effect on one particular family, but it really has a community effect," Hashah said.

GBI has offered insight into what economic help American families need most — and it should be applied to policy — whether it's at the local, state, or federal level, Palmer said. He said the research on cash assistance programs shows the "tremendous upside" of giving low-income families the freedom to choose what's best for them.

"This is a way of thinking about how we support families, children, all sorts of folks in a way that meets them where they are," Palmer said.

Have you benefited from a guaranteed basic income program? Are you willing to share how you spent the money? Reach out to this reporter at allisonkelly@businessinsider.com.

• Central banks' gold buying has driven gold prices to record highs.
• Consumer and retail investors, too, are snapping up gold as a store of value amid economic and geopolitical uncertainties.
• However, some central banks are selling gold — chief among them is Uzbekistan.

Central banks around the world have been snapping up gold, sending prices of the metal to record highs.

Consumers and retail investors, particularly in China, have also been buying up gold as a time-tested store of value amid macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties.

On Monday, the spot gold price hit a record high of around $2,440 per ounce, up about 17% this year to date. The high came on the heels of political uncertainties in the Middle East, after Iran's president died in a helicopter crash and amid the Saudi king's health concerns.

In 2022, global gold demand came in at nearly 4,700 tons — outstripping 3,628 tons of mined production that year, according to the latest available data from the World Gold Council.

Uzbekistan's central bank is a big seller

While many central banks are now hoarding gold, some have sold in the last few months to take cash in on current sky-high prices.

In the first quarter of this year, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan was the biggest net seller of gold, disposing of 10.9 tons of the precious metal in March and 11.8 tons in February. Meanwhile, Thailand — which had been accumulating gold for years — sold 9.6 tons in March, according to WGC data.

Uzbekistan's bumper first-quarter sales followed its selling streak last year when it was the second-largest seller of gold after neighboring Kazakhstan, which was selling gold to rebalance its reserves.

Uzbekistan, too, said last year it was rebalancing its reserves by cutting the proportion of gold. In 2022, Uzbekistan bought a lot of gold as a safe asset amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The country's gold stash accounted for nearly three-quarters of its reserves as of March this year, according to WGC data.

Uzbekistan has a natural advantage as a seller since it's also a large gold producer. So "the swings between buying and selling we have seen in recent years are not wholly surprising," wrote the WGC in a January report, referring to the activities of both the Uzbek and Kazakh central banks last year.

In 2022, Uzbekistan produced 110.8 tons of gold, making it the 10th top gold producer in the world, per WGC. The central Asian nation exported $8.2 billion of gold last year, according to the country's Kun.uz media outlet.

Gold rush in Uzbekistan

It's a bonanza for Uzbekistan's economy, which posted a record-high trade deficit of $13.7 billion last year. The country's local currency, the Uzbekistani som, is also under pressure and has been on an extended multi-year decline. The som slumped 10% against the US dollar in the past 12 months alone.

According to an AFP report in March, there may be a lot more gold to be found in Uzbekistan because much of the country's land has yet to be explored for gold.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has ordered gold production to increase by 50% by 2030. The gold rush is creating jobs in the country, the AFP reported. The country legalized private gold digging in 2019, and any gold found must be traded via its central bank.

Uzbekistan exported $2.66 billion worth of gold in the first quarter of this year, which accounted for about 40% of the country's total exports, per Kun.uz, citing official figures.

• The Federal Reserve has not started cutting interest rates with inflation still north of 2%.
• Yet companies haven't found it this easy to borrow cash since 2022, a Chicago Fed index shows.
• Stocks have also carried on racking up gains this year despite higher rates.

Companies haven't found it this easy to borrow in more than two years, according to one indicator, even though the Federal Reserve has opted to resist interest-rate cuts in a bid to curb inflation.

The Chicago Fed's National Financial Conditions Index, which measures companies' ability to access cash, fell to its lowest level since January 2022 earlier this month. A lower reading of the gauge signals a looser financial environment.

The apparent easing in financial conditions comes despite the Fed's reluctance to slash interest rates, with inflation still running clear of its 2% target.

The central bank raised borrowing costs from near-zero to around 5.5% between March 2022 and July 2023 and has kept them at that level since. Last week, Chair Jerome Powell warned that rates will have to stay higher for longer to help ease price pressures.

"The first quarter in the United States was notable for its lack of further progress on inflation," he said during a panel in Amsterdam.

"We did not expect this to be a smooth road, but these were higher than I think anybody expected," Powell added. "What that has told us is that we'll need to be patient and let restrictive policy do its work."

Soaring stock prices could be one factor driving the looser financial conditions highlighted by the Chicago Fed's gauge.

The benchmark S&P 500 stock-market index is up almost 12% this year and about 36% since the start of 2023, powered higher by AI and better-than-expected US growth. That's happened despite the lack of rate cuts, which means investors could still park their cash in a savings account.

Last week, BlackRock bond guru Rick Rieder warned that high rates might actually be stoking inflation, by fueling a huge transfer of money from borrowers to lenders and turning the private sector into a net creditor.

"I'm not certain that raising interest rates actually brings down inflation. In fact, I would lay out an argument that actually, if you cut interest rates, you bring down inflation," he told Bloomberg TV on Friday.

• Google's AI plans are "poorly motivated," says a former employee. 
• "This myopia is NOT something driven by a user need," said Scott Jenson, who left Google in March. 
• "It is a stone cold panic that they are getting left behind," he continued.

Google might be one of the biggest players in the AI space, but an employee says the tech giant's work in the field has been motivated by "stone cold panic."

"The 'AI Projects' I was working on were poorly motivated and driven by this panic that as long as it had 'AI' in it, it would be great," Scott Jenson, a senior UX designer who left Google in March, wrote in a LinkedIn post on Monday.

"This myopia is NOT something driven by a user need," he continued. "It is a stone cold panic that they are getting left behind."

Jenson later clarified, via an update to his post, that he wasn't a senior leader at Google and that the projects he worked on "were fairly limited."

"My comment comes more from a general frustration of the entire industry and it's approach to AI," he wrote.

According to Jenson's LinkedIn profile, the Stanford graduate worked at Google for around 16 years, across three separate stints.

In his first stint, which ran from 2005 to 2011, Jenson managed Google's mobile UX. He later rejoined Google in 2013, where he spent over 8 years focusing on product strategy. Jenson's final and shortest stint at Google ran from April 2022 to March 2024, where he researched on new uses of haptic technology for Android.

"The vision is that there will be a Tony Stark like Jarvis assistant in your phone that locks you into their ecosystem so hard that you'll never leave," Jenson wrote, referencing the Marvel hero, Iron Man.

"That vision is pure catnip. The fear is that they can't afford to let someone else get there first," he added.

And according to Jenson, this isn't the first time the search giant has given into fear and anxiety when it notices a new rival.

"This exact thing happened 13 years ago with Google+ (I was there for that fiasco as well). That was a similar reaction but to Facebook," Jenson wrote.

Google+ was a social network that the company launched in June 2011. The company's attempt at a Facebook rival floundered, as it struggled with "low usage and engagement."

The service was finally shuttered in April 2019.

But Google, Jenson said, wasn't the only tech giant guilty of making this mistake.

"BTW, Apple is no different. They too are trying to create this AI lock-in with Siri. When the emperor, eventually, has no clothes, they'll be lapped by someone thinking bigger," said Jenson, who'd also worked as a user interface designer at Apple for eight years.

Representatives for Google and Apple didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.

Jenson's scathing assessment comes as tech giants like Google and Apple have been struggling to play catch-up with AI upstarts like OpenAI. And Google and Apple's deep pockets and earlier investments in AI haven't exactly given either of them a meaningful lead in the AI race.

In fact, Apple's software chiefs spent weeks testing out ChatGPT themselves before realizing that they needed to upgrade their digital assistant Siri, per The New York Times.

The Cupertino-based company is also nearing a deal with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into the next version of iOS, per Bloomberg.

Likewise for Google, who has been repeatedly upstaged by OpenAI with its product announcements.

When Google unveiled its new AI model Gemini 1.5 on February 15, OpenAI dropped its text-to-video model Sora just a few hours later.

Last week, OpenAI debuted its new flagship AI model, GPT-4o, a day before Google announced various updates for their models.

"I try not to think about competitors too much, but I cannot stop thinking about the aesthetic difference between openai and google," OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman said in an X post on May 16.

• Google Earth combines satellite imagery and aerial photography to create a rich picture of earth.
• You can use Google Earth online, on your smartphone or tablet, or on its desktop app — all for free.
• You can tour amazing maps all over the world and even create your own.

Google Earth is a virtual, three-dimensional globe developed by Google that uses satellite images, topographical data, aerial photography, and more to create a clear, detailed picture of our planet.

While the images are often updated frequently, Google doesn't capture them in real time. (For real-time satellite images of the Earth, you can visit NASA Worldview.)

With Google Earth, users can create custom maps that incorporate data and statistics from other sources, like population, tree cover, temperature, and more.

Even if you aren't geographically inclined, Google Earth allows you to travel the world from home, touring interactive maps of anything from lion habitats to underwater landscapes in the ocean to buildings constructed to mimic the patterns of nature.

Like Google Maps, You can access Google Earth and its mapping tools on your desktop or mobile device, and it's totally free to use.

In 2021, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a new "Timelapse" feature for Google Earth, which compiled millions of satellite photos over four decades to demonstrate the "rapid environmental change" the planet has endured.

Can I use Google Earth without downloading it?

If you're just browsing cool locations around the world or zooming in on your home and neighborhood, the web version of Google Earth works well. No download required!

Google Earth web was initially only available for use on Chrome, but as of 2020 is supported by Firefox, Edge, and Opera browsers, too.

But if you're looking for more advanced features, like geographic information system (GIS) data and the ability to view older versions of images to view how a place has changed over time, you may want to download Google Earth Pro on your desktop or laptop.

What do people use Google Earth for?

Google Earth users, including non-profit organizations, scientists and geographers, and map lovers, have used the program to map sea level rise in cities around the world, geographical changes in indigenous languages, the change in forest cover over time, air pollution in London, the expansion of urban centers around the world, and much more.

People also use Google Earth every day to view locations that pique their curiosity — their houses, travel destinations, or global landmarks. Unlike Google Street View, which shows photos taken by cars, Google Earth shows satellite images from above.

Together with Google Maps, Google Images, and Google Earth, people can search and view just about any location on earth.

In 2014, a German company that had created similar 3D mapping software in the 1990s filed a lawsuit against Google claiming the Silicon Valley giant had infringed on its patent rights. Two years later, a jury in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware found in favor of Google. The case was dramatized in the 2021 Netflix series "The Billion Dollar Code."

In February 2024, in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund, Google announced it would use Google Earth to map methane leaks around the world and make that information freely available to the public.

Google will use data from MethaneSAT, a new satellite that aims to locate the sources of methane leaks that are contributing to climate change.

• A feather of the extinct huia songbird just sold in New Zealand for about $28,000.
• That makes it worth about $3,153 per gram, or 40 times as much as gold's $77 per gram in New Zealand.
• The huia's plumes are sacred to the Māori people and were worn by those of high status.

A single feather of an extinct bird was auctioned off in New Zealand on Monday for about $28,000, making it the most expensive feather ever sold worldwide.

The feather of the huia, a songbird native to New Zealand's North Island, is sacred to the Māori people and was worn by elite chiefs, per the New Zealand Geographic.

But the bird has been extinct for over a century, with its last sighting in 1907.

The huia feather sold at Webb's Auction House in Auckland was initially estimated to be worth around $1,830, but its sale price ballooned after 59 bids.

As noted by The Guardian, its final price of $28,000 makes it worth more by weight than gold. Gold costs around $77 per gram in New Zealand, and the 9-gram huia feather is worth $3,153 per gram.

In 2010, another huia feather was sold for about $4,400.

The feather sold on Monday is framed under protective glass and is classified by the New Zealand government as a Y-registered object. Such items can only be purchased by registered collectors in New Zealand and cannot leave the country without permission.

Dark brown with a white tip, the huia feather was highly valuable in Māori societies and sometimes used in trade or as a gift.

As New Zealand Geographic puts it:

Of all Tane's children, the huia was the most sacred to Māori. Other birds, such as the kōtuku (white heron) and amokura (red-tailed tropic bird) were also prized for their plumes, but huia was pre-eminent. In pre-European times, only chiefs of high rank and their whānau wore the distinguished tail feathers in their hair.

These birds were typically found in pairs in New Zealand's forests and were understood to bond for life, with males and females working in tandem with their differently shaped beaks to feed on insects in trees.

According to New Zealand Geographic, a Māori method of catching a huia was to mimic the bird's call, snare one, and then wait for the other to arrive after it hears its mate's cries.

Habitat loss and capturing of the huai in pre-colonial times contributed to some population loss, per the magazine. Deforestation and systemic hunting by European naturalists and traders exacerbated the bird's decline as its feather became a fashion accessory in the 19th century.

Despite efforts in 1892 to make the huia a protected species, the bird is thought to have gone extinct in the early 20th century.

The huia feather sale comes as auctions draw attention largely from sports and celebrity memorabilia sold at once-seemingly outlandish prices. The famed "Hand of God" jersey worn by soccer legend Diego Maradona, for example, sold in 2022 for $5 million.

• Sundar Pichai thinks OpenAI might have breached YouTube's terms of service when it trained Sora.
• The ChatGPT-maker wowed the AI industry when it debuted its text-to-video model in February.
• OpenAI's CTO Mira Murati said she wasn't sure if Sora was trained on YouTube videos. 

OpenAI might've breached YouTube's terms and conditions to train its text-to-video model Sora, says Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

"So you felt like they had broken your terms and conditions, or potentially, or if they had, that wouldn't have been appropriate?" Nilay Patel, the editor-in-chief of The Verge, asked Pichai in an interview published Monday.

"That's right. Yes, that's right," Pichai replied.

Earlier in the interview, Pichai revealed that YouTube was still "following up and trying to understand" how OpenAI had trained Sora.

"Look we don't know the details," Pichai said. "We have terms and conditions, and we would expect people to abide by those terms and conditions when you build a product, so that's how I felt about it."

In February, the ChatGPT-maker wowed the AI industry when it debuted Sora to the world. The model, which takes its name from the Japanese word for "sky," is capable of generating high quality videos with a simple text prompt.

But OpenAI has remained coy about the data it used to train coy. The company's CTO Mira Murati told The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern in March that it "used publicly available data and licensed data."

Murati, however, gave a far less definitive answer when Stern asked if OpenAI had taken data from platforms like YouTube and Instagram.

"I'm actually not sure about that," Murati replied. "You know, if they were publicly available to use, there might be data. But I'm not sure. I'm not confident about it."

Last month, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan told Bloomberg's Emily Chang that while he didn't know if OpenAI had trained Sora on YouTube videos, it would've been a "clear violation" of the platform's terms of use if they did.

"From a creator's perspective, when a creator uploads their hard work to our platform, they have certain expectations. One of those expectations is that the terms of service is going to be abided by," Mohan said.

"It does not allow for things like transcripts or video bits to be downloaded, and that is a clear violation of our terms of service," he continued. "Those are the rules of the road in terms of content on our platform."

Representatives for Google and OpenAI didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.

OpenAI's YouTube troubles underscore the challenges faced by data-hungry AI companies trying to train their models. In October, Amazon-backed AI startup Anthropic said that it was using data that it generated itself to train their models.

And this wouldn't be the only time OpenAI has courted controversy with how it works with content and creators.

On Monday, actress Scarlett Johansson said she was "shocked" and "angered" after OpenAI's brand new virtual assistant sounded "eerily similar" to hers.

Johansson said in a statement that she had turned down OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's offer to voice its latest GPT-4o model.

The model, which was released last week, included several voice options. Many social media users felt that one of voices, named "Sky," sounded like an AI chatbot that Johansson voiced in Spike Jonze's "Her." OpenAI said on Sunday that it was pausing "Sky's" release.

"We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity's distinctive voice — Sky's voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice," OpenAI wrote in a blog post on the same day.