Business Insider

Renters have quietly enjoyed a nice run over the past two years. A historic wave of apartment construction has tamped down rents from their pandemic-era peak — last year developers finished the most units nationwide since 1974. With so many shiny high-rises hitting the market, landlords are fighting to fill their spaces, offering major discounts and perks to lure tenants. But as the cost of building has increased, the number of cranes on the horizon has dwindled. Formerly eager developers are cutting back on fresh construction plans, laying the groundwork for another apartment squeeze. In other words, the good times for renters are running out. Time’s not up just yet. Developers are projected to deliver another half a million new apartments this year, down slightly from 2024, which should force property managers to focus on keeping their buildings full instead of jacking up rents. The outlook for renters, though, turns gloomier once you look at 2026 and beyond. Translation: Snag those apartment deals while you can. They probably won’t last much longer. Read more about why America is about to enter an apartment crunch at the link in our bio. Story by James Rodriguez (Credit: Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI) #realestate #apartments #renters

Meta doubles executive bonuses while cutting about 4,000 jobs in latest restructure #metalayoffs #jobs #meta

Gold prices could hit $3,000 per ounce due to President Donald Trump suggesting new tariffs on raw materials. #gold #trump #tariffs

Newly obtained internal documents show some of the teams that were hit the hardest in Meta’s recent job cuts. The tech giant began cutting thousands of jobs last week, affecting roughly 5% of its workforce. Business Insider obtained 30 records sent to affected workers along with their separation agreements, offering a picture of how Meta is reshaping its workforce. Editor’s note: We’ve updated this story to clarify that the data referenced in the 30 documents is a portion of all the data that may be available. Take a closer look at the data at the link in our bio. Story by Jyoti Mann (Credit: Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI) #meta #facebook #jobcuts

Donald Trump's presidential election victory in November spurred an immediate surge in assets such as stocks and crypto. It was dubbed the Trump trade. After an initial bump, things haven't exactly gone as planned. The president has been less decisive than expected — particularly when it comes to tariffs — and it's caused the trade to fade. Meanwhile, assets specifically linked to Trump's efficiency-bureau right-hand man, Elon Musk, have soared in appeal and value. Forget the Trump trade — maybe the "Musk trade" has been the place to be all along. Read more about how the Musk trade has panned out positively since November at the link in our bio. Story by Matthew Fox (Credit: Getty Images) #elonmusk #donaldtrump #markets #stockmarket

Your tax return may languish on an empty desk at the Internal Revenue Service this season after the agency began firing workers this week. An internal IRS email viewed by Business Insider said the agency would terminate probationary workers — typically those who have been at the agency for less than a year — who were not "critical" to tax filing season. Tax experts and IRS employees told BI they expect the terminations to result in delayed tax refunds, slower customer service, and a backlog in paperwork processing. Some spoke to BI under the condition of anonymity. Tap the link in our bio for more on what the experts and IRS employees told us. Story by Madison Hoff, Ayelet Sheffey, and Juliana Kaplan (Credit: Getty Images, Tyler Le/BI) #taxseason #IRS #taxes

Recently released rental data from Realtor.com shows a few silver linings for both homebuyers and renters. The research firm found that median rent in the US declined on a year-over-year basis for the 18th straight month, even though the drop was modest at -0.2%. But the biggest takeaway is that affordability improved in a majority of the 50 largest US cities tracked by Realtor.com, as measured by the change in the share of money spent on housing. While massive cities like San Francisco and Miami aren't known for affordability, Realtor.com's findings indicate that buyers and renters there are able to save more money staying there than they would have a year prior, since the share of income going to landlords or lenders is smaller. See 11 major US cities where buyers and renters can save more money at the link in our bio. Story by James Faris (Credit: Getty Images) #housing #homebuying #realestate

Amy Glenn, 72, feared her $1,200 in Social Security wouldn't be enough to live comfortably in the US. In January 2023, she paid $165,000 for a house in Costa Rica. Each month, she spends $300 on groceries, $70 on electricity, and $80 on medications and doctor visits. "I would have never bought this much property in the US, and that takes a huge weight off my mind because I know that I'm not going to be homeless," Glenn said. "The financial stress is gone." Over the last few years, dozens of American expats have told Business Insider their reasons for moving abroad. Many, including retirees, have mentioned higher US living costs as a major motivator for relocating to relatively cheaper countries like Mexico, Ecuador, and Spain. Click the link in our bio to read more about retirees who moved abroad. Story by Noah Sheidlower and Alcynna Lloyd (Credit: Getty Images, Ava Horton/BI) #retirement #expats #costofliving

Italian quarryman Giorgio Rivieri rediscovered a forgotten #luxury marble after 70 years. #rare #italian

The Internal Revenue Service is the latest target for slashing the federal workforce, with probationary workers saying they've started to receive termination letters — even as the agency is in the midst of tax filing season. "We've been waiting for the shoe to drop since Inauguration Day," the IRS probationary worker told Business Insider before termination letters were sent out. "It's been exhausting and at this point, we are all just ready for the bandaid to be ripped off." Now, the proverbial bandaid is off. These terminations could specifically hit the jobs responsible for enforcement and tax evasion. One source who was fired told BI that they were tasked with investigating tax compliance and alerting the IRS of any findings of fraud or evasion. Read more about the firings at the link in our bio. Story by Juliana Kaplan, Madison Hoff, and Ayelet Sheffey (Credit: AP Photo) #taxseason #irs #federalworkers #layoffs

Melanie Mattox Green's most recent performance review in October lauded her "incredible" self-initiative, "superior quality" work, and efforts to promote "efficiencies" on her team. She was fired last week based on her performance, along with thousands of other federal probationary workers. "It's a low blow, and it's completely baseless," the former US Forest Service employee told Business Insider, adding, "If these terminations were truly about performance, then why were thousands of well-reviewed employees let go?" BI has talked to dozens of workers over the past few weeks, including some who said they voted for President Donald Trump, and they've overwhelmingly said they disagree with his treatment of the federal workforce. Read more about how federal workers are planning to fight back at the link in our bio. Story by Ayelet Sheffey (Credit: Getty Images) #federalworkers #performancereviews #careers

A retired #Delta pilot explains how everyone survived the #Toronto #crash.