ResidentialBusiness

Google has acted illegally to maintain a dominant position in online advertising, a federal judge ruled on Thursday. The tech giant’s “exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google’s publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web,” Judge Leonie Brinkema wrote in her 115-page ruling, which followed another federal judge’s ruling last year that Google had monopolized the search market. Google was found “liable under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act” for actions in the ad exchange and tool sectors, but not that it operated a monopoly on ad networks. Google told Fast Company it disagreed with the court’s decision, and would appeal it. “We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice president, regulatory affairs, in a statement. The latest decision is a big hit to the company, and acts as a prelude to further crackdowns in other jurisdictions, which some suggest could impact its operations. “This is a very big deal,” says Stacy Mitchell, co-director at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. “The chokehold that Google​ has over the flow of information​ and ideas online, and its power to pocket the ad dollars, has been killing off local news outlets and undermining a key foundation of democracy.” Jason Kint, CEO of the trade association Digital Content Next, says the ruling “underscores the global harm caused by Google’s practices, which have deprived premium publishers worldwide of critical revenue, undermining their ability to sustain high-quality journalism and entertainment.” Kint believes the decision “is a significant step toward restoring competition and accountability in the digital advertising ecosystem.” Yet for all the headlines the decision will generate, there’s still uncertainty about how much it’ll change Google’s practices—and the wider web. While there’s a recognition that the decisions will likely change how Google works, what impact that will have is uncertain. “Frankly, the ad exchange market is so complicated that it’s hard to know what the impact of any changes to Google’s operations in that area might mean for internet users,” says Anupam Chander, a law professor at Georgetown University. Chander believes any changes compelled by this decision may not immediately be obvious to rank-and-file users. “If Google is forced to spin out its ad exchange market or forced to open it up to more competitors, it’s not clear that the results will be visible to users,” he says. The ruling could also present a Catch-22: While it may open up the ad market and benefit online publishers, it could also lead to increased data collection of users (since a raft of third parties would compete to gather more data on users to supplant Google’s current single supply). Still, the decision, whatever it means for end users, is another drumbeat in a wider shift in power between big tech giants and the governments trying to regulate them. And while attention is on the U.S. right now, it’s decisionmaking elsewhere that could have the more longer-lasting impact on the web. The U.S. court’s decision will likely energize European regulators, who are conducting their own investigation into Google’s ad tech practices. A decision there is expected imminently—and could carry more weight. “After years of imposing fines that Google has shrugged off as a mere cost of doing business, the European Commission has the chance to break free from this cycle of whack-a-mole enforcement,” says Stephen Kinsella, an independent legal expert with 30 years of experience in antitrust regulation. European regulators may be prepared to go further than their American counterparts, potentially reshaping the digital ecosystem by compelling the breakup of Google’s intertwined businesses. “By taking decisive action and mandating a structural break-up, the EU can go beyond slapping big tech companies on the wrist,” says Kinsella. “It can restore a thriving, competitive and fair digital economy that works for its citizens, not entrenched monopolies. This is a moment that Europe cannot afford to let pass.” View the full article

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Once again, Zillow has downgraded its 12-month forecast for national home prices. On Wednesday, Zillow economists published their updated forecast model, projecting that U.S. home prices, as measured by the Zillow Home Value Index, will fall 1.7% between March 2025 and March 2026. Back in March, Zillow downgraded its 12-month outlook for U.S. home prices to +0.8%. In February, Zillow downgraded its 12-month outlook to +1.1%. And at the start of the year in January, Zillow’s 12-month national home price forecast was +2.9%. Why does Zillow keep downgrading its national home price outlook? “The rise in [active] listings is fueling softer price growth, as greater supply provides more options and more bargaining power for buyers,” Zillow economists wrote in March. “Potential buyers are opting to remain renters for longer as affordability challenges suppress demand for home purchases.” Essentially, Zillow thinks strained housing affordability—caused by U.S. home prices rising over 40% during the pandemic housing boom and mortgage rates spiking from 3% to 6% in 2022—is weighing on price growth. According to Zillow’s home price model, the listing site also believes that weakening and softening housing markets across the Sun Belt will weigh on nationally aggregated home prices this year. Among the 300 largest U.S. metro area housing markets, Zillow expects the strongest home price appreciation between March 2025 and March 2026 to occur in these 10 areas: Atlantic City, NJ: 2.4% Kingston, NY: 1.9% Rochester, NY: 1.8% Knoxville, TN: 1.7% Torrington, CT : 1.6% Bangor, ME: 1.5% Syracuse, NY: 1.4% Vineland, NJ: 1.4% Concord, NH: 1.3% Norwich, CT: 1.2% In that same time frame, Zillow expects the weakest home price appreciation to occur in these 10 areas: Houma, LA: -10.1% Lake Charles, LA: -8.9% New Orleans, LA: -7.6% Lafayette, LA: -7.5% Shreveport, LA: -7.0% Alexandria, LA -7.0% Beaumont, TX : -6.6% Odessa, TX: -6.3% Midland, TX: -5.7% Monroe, LA: -5.5 Below is what the current year-over-year rate of home price growth looks like for single-family and condo home prices. Florida is currently the epicenter of housing market weakness right now. View the full article

Homeland Security threatens to revoke university’s ability to admit foreign nationalsView the full article

Fifth Third Bancorp revised its guidance, but still expects record net interest income for 2025, even as commercial clients signal that economic volatility will drive up inflation. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. As Lifehacker's resident marathon runner and senior finance writer, there is one perfect point where my worlds intersect: buying sneakers. When it comes to investing in—and maybe even splurging on—running gear, nothing affects your running experience more than your shoes. Finding the perfect running shoes is about much more than style or brand preference. Proper footwear can be the difference between achieving your running goals and suffering through preventable injuries. Why proper shoe fit mattersMany runners unknowingly wear the wrong shoes for years. According to Jessica Lyons-Quirk, director of footwear merchandising at Road Runner Sports, "Not only do most people not know what true foot size they are, they also might not know if they are a neutral or stability runner, so they are setting themselves up for years of injury and being uncomfortable." If your gear is fitting improperly, "you're probably feeling prone to pain and injury," Lyons-Quirk says. "You might have pain in your feet, but also pain in your knees or hips when you walk or run." This mismatch between foot needs and shoe type can significantly impact your running experience and long-term foot health. "The biggest thing about injuries and foot health is that you need to be in the right shoe for your foot. Every foot is different—you're going to constantly be injury-prone if you aren't in the right shoe, which means you're never going to hit your training goals if you're constantly resting off an injury," Lyons-Quirk says. Understanding your running styleBefore selecting shoes, it's important to understand your running mechanics. Broadly speaking, there are two main categories of runners: Neutral runners have a natural foot motion forward with even weight distribution when pushing off. Your feet effectively absorb impact and don't roll excessively inward or outward. Stability runners overpronate, meaning the arch collapses during landing and the foot rolls too far inward. This can create alignment issues while you run. For both types of runners, you'll see shoes directly advertised for your specific style. Neutral runners have a more natural foot motion forward and effectively absorb the impact of the ground, while evenly distributing weight on the toe-off. Lyons-Quirk says you'll want to look for the HOKA Clifton or Saucony Ride. To find the best stability shoes, look out for extra guidance and support to control the excessive movement. Lyons-Quirk recommends the Brooks Adrenaline or the ASICS GEL-Kayano. Brooks Women’s Adrenaline GTS 23 Supportive Running Shoe at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now at Amazon Saucony Men's Ride 18 Sneaker $139.95 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Shop Now Shop Now $139.95 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Signs your running shoes do fitBefore blaming all your running woes on your shoes (which will lead to wasting time and money on finding the right pair), here are some of the positive signs that your shoes are in fact the right fit: Thumb's width of space: A common tip is there should be roughly a thumb's width of space between your longest toe and the front of the shoe. No pinching or rubbing: The shoes shouldn't feel tight across the widest part of your foot. Secure heel: Your heel should feel snug but not tight, with minimal slippage when walking. Room for toe splay: Your toes should be able to spread naturally when your foot lands. Comfortable arch support: The arch support should contact your arch without feeling intrusive. Red flags of a poor fitWatch for these warning signs that your shoes aren't right for you: Blisters, hot spots, or calluses developing after runs Numbness or tingling in the toes Pain in your feet, ankles, knees, or hips during or after running Black toenails from toes hitting the front of the shoe Feeling unstable during your runs When to get fittedThe best approach is to visit a specialty running store to get in-person guidance. Running stores often have a treadmill in-store so you can try your shoes at a jogging pace without leaving the building. You’ll want to lean on the stores and companies with a good return policy so that you can road-test your new shoes. Here are some times you when you should consider getting professionally fitted: When you're new to running After significant weight changes If you're experiencing unexplained pain Every 1-2 years, as feet can change over time When returning from injury Tips for sneaker shoppingThis might sound unconventional, but my hot tip is to shop for sneakers later in the day. Just like how I never buy jeans before I've eaten breakfast, I find my feet naturally swell throughout the day, and I want to make sure my sneakers can handle all my feet fluctuations. Another hack: Bring your old shoes to the store. The wear pattern provides valuable information about your running style for the seller helping you. Similarly, wear your running socks when you try on a new pair, since the thickness of your socks affects fit. And most importantly, make sure you can take your shoes on a test run before committing to anything. Many specialty shops allow you to jog around the store or even take a short run outside. Finding the right running shoes is a personalized process that directly impacts your performance and injury risk. As Lyons-Quirk emphasizes, each foot is different, and matching your specific needs to the right shoe is the number one key to running at your best. View the full article

Satellite company linked to People’s Liberation Army has supplied images to Iran-backed group in Yemen, say officialsView the full article

In my coaching, I pride myself on helping clients get to the root of their issues, instead of offering Band-Aid solutions. At the same time, I’ve found that sometimes people are so overwhelmed with all they have to do that they have difficulty making time for the deeper reflective thought that coaching requires. In these situations, I offer some quick and easy-to-implement best practices to help reduce their sense of overwhelm. Managing your work calendar effectively is one of the most crucial steps toward feeling more in control of your professional life. When your calendar is well-organized, it reduces stress, increases productivity, and ensures that you are focusing on the tasks that truly matter. However, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by back-to-back meetings, constant demands on your time, and the struggle to find space for deep work. Here’s how you can regain control of your work calendar with practical tips and strategies that can be implemented right away: Set clear priorities Before diving into calendar management, it’s important to set clear priorities. Your calendar should reflect your key objectives, goals, and values—not just the urgent requests that come your way. Start by identifying your top priorities for the week, month, and quarter. These could include project milestones, professional development, or key meetings with stakeholders. Set clear priorities Time blocking is a powerful technique where you divide your day into blocks of time dedicated to specific tasks or activities. This method helps you focus on one task at a time, reducing the mental clutter that comes from multitasking. It also ensures that you allocate time to all aspects of your work, including deep work, meetings, and administrative tasks. Learn to say no One of the biggest challenges in calendar management is learning to say “no.” It’s easy to accept every meeting request that comes your way, but this often leads to a crowded calendar with little time for meaningful work. Protecting your time is essential to maintaining control over your schedule. Use the ‘two-minute rule’ The two-minute rule, popularized by David Allen in his book Getting Things Done, suggests that if a task can be completed in two minutes or less, you should do it immediately. This rule helps prevent your to-do list from becoming cluttered with minor tasks and ensures that these small items don’t take up unnecessary space on your calendar. Leverage technology Modern calendar tools offer a range of features that can help you manage your time more effectively. From scheduling assistants that find the best meeting times to integration with task management apps, these tools can significantly reduce the time you spend organizing your calendar. Batch similar tasks Batching similar tasks together is a technique that can improve your efficiency and focus. For example, if you need to make multiple phone calls, schedule them back-to-back rather than scattering them throughout the day. This minimizes the mental switch costs associated with jumping between different types of tasks. Create buffer time Buffer time between meetings and tasks is essential for maintaining flexibility and preventing burnout. It gives you a moment to regroup, reflect, or handle any unexpected issues that arise during the day. Without buffer time, your day can feel rushed, and you may find yourself running late from one meeting to the next. Review and reflect Effective calendar management requires regular review and adjustment. At the end of each week, take a few minutes to reflect on how well your calendar worked for you. Did you manage to stick to your time blocks? Were there meetings that could have been shorter or avoided? Use these insights to make adjustments for the following week. Delegate and outsource If you’re constantly overwhelmed by tasks, it might be time to delegate or outsource some of them. Delegating responsibilities to others not only frees up your time but also empowers your team members to take on more responsibility. (For more on how to delegate effectively, see here.) View the full article

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage average rose 21 basis points this week, lagging other indicators, which are all now lower than seven days ago. View the full article

Young volunteers who respond to natural disasters and help with community projects across the U.S. have been discharged as a result of the The President administration ‘s campaign to shrink government workforce and services. AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps informed volunteers Tuesday that they would exit the program early “due to programmatic circumstances beyond your control,” according to an email obtained by The Associated Press. More than 2,000 people ages 18 to 26 serve for nearly a year, according to the program’s website, and get assigned to projects with nonprofits and community organizations or the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It celebrated its 30th year last year. The volunteers are especially visible after natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Helene last year. The organization said on social media last month that teams have served 8 million service hours on nearly 3,400 disaster projects since 1999. Jordan Kinsler, 23, has worked with FEMA Corps for the last nine months, traveling from Minnesota communities impacted by floods to ones in North Carolina touched by Helene. He and his team were on their final project at FEMA headquarters in Washington when they got word Tuesday that they wouldn’t be able to finish. Kinsler, who is from Long Island, New York, said they packed that night and left Wednesday morning for their home base in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Kinsler said he’s proud of the work he’s done and had hoped to apply for a permanent position. “To have this ripped right from us at the very end, it felt insulting,” he said. The AP sent an email Wednesday seeking comment from AmeriCorps. Funding for AmeriCorps and NCCC has long been included when there are talks in Congress of budget trims. The federal agency’s budget showed NCCC funding amounted to nearly $38 million last fiscal year. The unsigned memo to members said NCCC’s “ability to sustain program operations” was impacted by “new operational parameters” laid out by the The President administration’s priorities and President Donald The President’s executive order creating the Department of Government Efficiency. Members, who receive a living allowance and have basic expenses covered, would be paid through the end of April, according to the memo. The program also provides members who complete their 1,700-hour service term with funding for future education expenses or to apply to certain student loans. That benefit was worth about $7,300 this service year. The memo stated that those who have completed 15% or more of their term would be eligible for a prorated amount, but those that have completed less would not be eligible. There’s always been “bipartisan support” of NCCC — “and bipartisan criticism,” said Kate Raftery, who was NCCC director from 2011 to 2014. Raftery said the abrupt departure of these service teams would have lasting damage both on the NCCC members who were gaining education and launching careers as well as the organizations that depend on them and the neighborhoods where they served. “It was a very unique mixture of incredible heartbreak and incredible rage, outrage,” Raftery said of her reaction to the news. “The two were battling themselves most of the day.” Bud Maynard, mayor of Vinton, Iowa, which is home to a regional NCCC campus, said the program “has been without a doubt, a blessing for Vinton” and celebrated the opportunity to host “hundreds of people over the years with an unmatched passion and selflessness to want to help others.” “All of Vinton should never forget what a great program, filled with great people, this has been for not only Vinton but every community that benefited from their mission,” Maynard said in a statement Wednesday. —Hannah Fingerhut, Associated Press View the full article

Google's ad tech monopoly has been ruled illegal by a federal judge. Learn how this ruling may affect publishers and advertisers. The post Google Found Guilty of Illegal Ad Tech Monopoly in Court Ruling appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Ligation by the Ohio attorney general claims that UWM has turned brokers in its network into retail loan officers who solely work for the company. View the full article

The super-regional bank cited "a material slowdown" in investment banking and trading income as one reason for the lower revenue forecast. Interest rates are also a factor, executives said. View the full article

A major Burger King franchisee with dozens of locations has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Consolidated Burger Holdings, based in Destin, Florida, filed the court documents this week in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Florida. The franchisee now operates 57 Burger King restaurants in Florida and Georgia, after it reportedly closed 18 locations before its Chapter 11 filing. “Over the past several years, and particularly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Debtors’ business suffered significantly from loss of foot traffic, resulting in declining revenue without proportionate decreases in rental obligations, debt service, and other liabilities,” Consolidated Burger said in the filing. The documents also cited “significant hurdles resulting from industry headwinds,” resulting in financial turbulence for the franchisee. According to the documents, sales plummeted in the past two fiscal years. In 2023, the franchisee documented $76.6 million in sales and a net operating loss of $6.3 million. Last year, sales were down to $67 million with an amplified operating loss of $12.5 million. Consolidated Burger plans to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings and has been seeking a buyer. It listed assets at $78 million in the court documents. It’s unmistakably a tough time for restaurant franchisees, between rising food costs, as well as higher labor costs and slower foot traffic—and that’s before restaurant owners begin to feel the impact of The President’s tariffs. To get more customers in the door, fast food chains have been offering budget meal deals: Last year, Burger King launched a $5 meal deal promotion, similar to one McDonald’s was running. Still, on the whole, Burger King’s sales have been moving in the right direction. According to QSR, which monitors data on quick serve restaurants, the Burger King chain itself outperformed its peers in Q4 with a 1.5% increase in same-store sales compared to 1.2% increase among competitors. Last year, Burger King’s parent company, Restaurant Brands International (RBI), dumped more money into its ambitious restaurant remodeling plans for locations in the U.S. and Canada. RBI also bought Burger King’s largest U.S. franchisee, Carrols Restaurant Group, for $1 billion to expedite the process. RBI said it planned to spend about $2.2 billion on the remodels, and said that by 2028, 85% to 90% of its roughly 7,000 restaurants will be upgraded. At the time, Burger King U.S. President Tom Curtis told CNBC about the investment, saying, “It was the first time in a long time that RBI had invested a significant amount of capital back into the business to coinvest with franchisees.” Curtis continued, “I think the process was, ‘Let’s see how this works’ . . . and we’re seeing early results on remodels.” View the full article

Every home needs upkeep and maintenance. Sometimes it can feel like you get one problem fixed, only to face another one. That can lead to tunnel vision, focusing on the present because you feel like there’s no time to worry about the future. But the future is coming, and if you don’t want to inordinately trouble your future self, there are several small steps you can take to make Future You a little happier. Record your paintPainting is an easy way to upgrade your house. Choosing the right color and sheen can be a project in itself, but once you get there you’ll have a space you feel comfortable in. Right as you start your paint project, snap photos of the can’s mixing formula on the label, then drop those photos in a folder for your home projects. That label contains everything you’ll need to know in order to replicate the paint at a later date, saving your future self a lot of grief. Alternatively, you can peel the label off (or ask for a second one when you buy the paint), and stick it in a notebook. Hang onto spare materialsRe-tiling the shower? Re-siding the house? Laying down some vinyl plank flooring? Whenever you finish a project, always try to have some leftover materials—and hang onto them. If you need to tear up a portion of your work years later, having spares on hand for the patch work will make the job a lot easier. Tiles and flooring are discontinued all the time, and even if that particular style is still being manufactured in the future there are often color and grain inconsistencies between batches, so a box of tile bought five years after the initial project may not match perfectly. Ask contractorsWe hire skilled professionals to do home maintenance and renovation tasks we can’t handle ourselves. But that doesn’t mean you should nip off to the pub while the work gets done. Paying attention and asking a few questions will make your future a lot less stressful: Materials used. Get a breakdown of the specific materials used. Knowing exactly what kind of paint, tile, or flooring was used will make it easier to replace or repair it in the future—and as noted above, ask to keep the leftover material. After all, you paid for it. Installation. You aren’t a contractor and don’t aspire to do complex plumbing or electrical work—but knowing how things were installed will be incredibly helpful to your future self. Contractors are deep wells of information, and they can clue you in on hacks, tricks, and best practices that can help you keep systems and finishes looking good and working correctly. Record datesKeeping a house in shape can be a whirlwind of constant effort, and that makes it easy to forget when, exactly, things were done. But knowing how long ago something was installed, repaired, or replaced will serve your future self very well. Everything in your house has a lifespan and a recommended maintenance schedule, so knowing when your boiler or HVAC was installed, how old your roof is, or the last time your basement flooded will be valuable information. While you're at it, mark down the date when you change the batteries in your smoke alarms, thermostats, alarm systems, and anything else that your comfort and safety rely on. Then do the same when you change out the filters on your HVAC system, furnace, or water supply (and don’t forget to check your fire extinguisher). Label fastenersHomeowners have been dealing with growing supplies of loose screws, bolts, and Allen wrenches for most of the modern home-owning age. To keep from someday desperately sifting through incorrect screws and wrenches, label them today. Every time you put together furniture or install shelving, put any leftover fasteners into some kind of storage and label it clearly. When the time comes to disassemble or fix it, you’ll have everything you need. Save product manualsJust about everything you buy for your home will come with some sort of product manual (and these days you can download most of them pretty easily). You might be tempted to think you don’t need a product manual for simple appliances—you know how to operate a toaster, for example—but you should keep your product manuals, physically or digitally. These manuals will provide the basic information you’ll need to repair, replace, or troubleshoot your stuff, including a breakdown of the specific sizes of fasteners, wall anchors, and other parts you might need to replace someday. Plus, manuals contain a lot of other useful information, like weight limits or other tolerances. If you want to turn a bookshelf you assembled into storage for your dumbbells, for example, it will be great to be able to just look up the unit’s capacity. Keep visual recordsTake photos of things like air filters or unique light bulbs and leave them on your phone. Do this for any unique item that needs replacing from time to time. Now, the next time you need a fresh supply, you'll be able to look up exactly what’s needed. Map out circuitsYou won’t know frustration until you need to cut the power to an area of your house (like the air conditioning) and you can’t figure out which circuit it’s on. You wind up flipping breakers until you find the one, and then you have a solid 20 minutes of resetting clocks and preferences ahead of you. Instead, spend a half hour mapping your breaker panel, labeling each one neatly. Next time you have reason to cut the power to an appliance or a room, you’ll be able to do so with no drama or stress. Purchase extra keysAs a man who has been forced to break into his own house far too often, I can say that having some extra keys stashed in safe places around your neighborhood (or a few trusted folks with security codes if you have smart locks) will be deeply appreciated by your future self. Identify contractors in advanceThe worst time to look for a plumber, electrician, exterminator, or roofer is when you’re in the midst of an emergency. Start asking friends and neighbors for recommendations now, and start a master file of contact info and who recommended them (including the specific work they did, if you can). When you discover a newly formed lake in your basement one morning, you’ll be able to calmly make a call instead of trying to cram three months of research into three minutes. View the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A salary negotiation success story from a reader: Due to a lack of backfills, I’ve absorbed the work of some attritions over the last couple of years and have been operating for some time as three raccoons in a trench coat. I’ve far exceeded expectations and have been recognized in performance reviews (although not raises — my company has been well below cost of living for some time, with my department averaging around 2% annually since 2020). Now the very rare event for my company has happened where they’ve decided to permanently promote the job level of my existing role — to take what I’ve made it into and actually give it the appropriate title and pay. Hooray! Due to some transition on the team, I am also about to be the longest-tenured teammate, and have been asked to commit to a specific minimum period of time in role with some additional leadership responsibilities so that everything doesn’t go tits up while I train a whole new crop of folks. My boss came to me with an official promotion date and proposed salary. I’ve done a ton of research over the last year as I’ve been interviewing externally (knowing I’ve been underpaid) and doing research internally, so I had a number in mind that we’ll call $X4, which would have been a 40% increase over my current pay. In my mind, I was aiming for $X3, a 30% increase. Boss shared a number that got me partway there, $X2. After I asked if there was wiggle room, he asked if I had a number in mind. I said yes, and that I’d send him an email. This is what I sent: Hi Boss – Thank you again for the recognition of my hard work and leadership on the otter analytics team. I am excited to step into a more formalized leadership role and remain dedicated to ensuring the success of this program while growing the capabilities of the team. I’d like to have a discussion about my compensation. Based on my internal and external research, the proposed base of $X2 is not aligned to what others in this role have been paid, nor the market rate for comparable jobs/experience. Attached is some of my research for similar and even more junior roles. (I had attached four postings with salaries listed, some even with target starting ranges; two were within our direct industry, including one with a direct competitor. My role is very niche and not all companies have it, not even all companies within our industry, so market research can be tough.) Ultimately, I’m looking for my base salary to be $X4. In addition to the overall scope of this role, I feel this reflects the value I bring to the team: my experience, capabilities, institutional knowledge, and proven performance. I look forward to further discussion and seeing what the future holds for this team! Thank you, Me A day went by and he called me with a number that was not $X4, but was now $X2.7 — they had come up, but not to that $X3 number I was really holding out for. He could tell I wasn’t thrilled and asked me to think on it over the weekend. I did, then went back one more time: Thank you again for the update on my promotion. I would like some additional consideration on my base compensation, targeting closer to $X3.3-X3.5. The current amount of $X2.7 does not reflect the full scope of this role. I have committed not only to leading [program] through the 2026 cycle to ensure continuity, but also to spend significant time both training multiple newcomers and working through [major strategic project that has a ton of company dollars and eyeballs attached to it], which relies both on my [program] knowledge and my experience working as a product owner for [internal tools he was previously unaware of my experience on]. Additionally, I’ve led the team through over X hours of [efficiency program] savings over the last two years which conservatively save over $X in labor annually while reducing both risk and speed to delivery in multiple facets of our process. I remain committed to furthering our efforts to simplify, automate, improve, and reduce risk, and in fact have already done so in 2025 through both [two major projects I’ve already identified, initiated, and completed on my own this year]. I look forward to further discussion. Me Unfortunately that email did not net me anything additional. I got a short speech about the political capital it took to get me from $X2 to $X2.7, but did get a commitment to revisit both my title and pay at year end. I could tell my boss was nervous I would walk over the lack of additional funds; while I was/am disappointed to not have hit $X3, there are more factors at play than can fit into this email and I am happy enough for the time being. Because I committed to a certain length of time in this role, I do have a loose “out” date set and, whether it’s within this role or the next, there will be another reckoning with compensation soon enough. Meanwhile, I’m all but guaranteed a bump in title and a decent bonus at year end as long as I don’t completely destroy the program in my first year as a leader! This language and strategy worked for me because I knew they were in a serious bind if I walked. They are motivated to keep me not only in my role and on my team, but at this company. I am one of our top performers globally and would be considered a loss in terms of talent planning. I had leverage, and I used it about as well as I could have without damaging my reputation. Advocating for myself was incredibly uncomfortable and my heart rate skyrocketed more than once while writing these emails and having these conversations, but they were necessary to get me anything close to what I am worth — a 27% increase isn’t nothing, even if it was on an underpaid salary to begin with. Thank you, Alison and the AAM commentariat for your years of collective wit and wisdom — they’ve been both valuable and invaluable! View the full article

Government stepped in to take control of struggling company but is keen to attract private sector investmentView the full article

A consumer advocacy group filed a lawsuit this week to block insurers from charging California customers for $500 million in costs associated with the deadly Los Angeles fires. California’s insurance commission in February ordered insurers doing business in California to provide $1 billion to the FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, to help it pay out claims related to the L.A. wildfires. The order allows insurers to recoup half the cost from its policyholders in the form of a onetime fee. The commissioner must approve the costs. The lawsuit, filed by Consumer Watchdog in Los Angeles, alleges Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara overstepped his authority and violated state laws for allowing for such cost shifting without going through the proper process. Such regulations have never been authorized in California and should have been vetted and approved by the Legislature or other oversight agencies before enforcement, Consumer Watchdog argued. The suit is asking the court to block Lara from approving the requests. There were at least three pending applications to implement a surcharge as of Tuesday, according to Consumer Watchdog. “We look forward to defending the rights and pocketbooks of Californians and stopping this socialization of FAIR Plan losses at the public’s expense, while the FAIR Plan’s profits will wholly remain with the insurance companies,” Consumer Watchdog staff attorney Ryan Mellino said in a statement. The Department of Insurance said the lawsuit could make California’s insurance crisis worse. “This hurts homeowners, small business and nonprofits who need access to insurance options, while doing nothing to address the insurance crisis,” Gabriel Sanchez, a department spokesperson, said in a statement. “It also serves to undermine our efforts to restore competition to all areas of our state, so people can get off the FAIR Plan and back to the regular market.” The FAIR Plan is the state’s last resort option for people who can’t get private insurance because their properties are deemed too risky to insure. The plan, with high premiums and basic coverage, is designed as a temporary option until homeowners can find permanent coverage, but more Californians are relying on it than ever. There were more than 555,000 home policies on the FAIR Plan as of March, more than double the number in 2020. The plan estimated a loss of roughly $4 billion from the Eaton and Palisades Fires, which sparked January 7, destroyed nearly 17,000 structures and killed at least 30 people. The plan had already paid out more than $914 million as of February. The lawsuit will not affect the FAIR Plan’s ability to pay out claims, Consumer Watchdog said. The American Property Casualty Insurance Association, the largest national trade association representing home, auto and business insurers called the lawsuit “a reckless and self-serving stunt.” Insurers have paid ten of billions in claims and contributed more than $500 million to sustain the FAIR Plan after the L.A. fires, the group said. “Blocking recovery of the additional costs insurers have paid to prop up the Fair Plan would jeopardize the last-resort coverage option for homeowners—and push our fragile insurance market closer to total collapse,” Denni Ritter, the group’s representative, said in a statement. “It is critical that the costs be spread equitably across a broader pool of insured customers to help restore California’s insurance market and protect access to coverage for all consumers.” The regulation to allow insurers to shift some of the costs used to sustain the FAIR Plan is among the strategies unveiled by Lara last year. California is undergoing a yearlong effort to stabilize its insurance market after several major insurance companies either paused or restricted new business in the state in 2023, which pushed hundreds of thousands of homeowners onto the FAIR Plan. Wildfires are becoming more common and destructive in California due to climate change, and insurers say that’s making it difficult to truly price the risk on properties. Of the top 20 most destructive wildfires in state history, 15 have occurred since 2015, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The state now gives insurers more latitude to raise premiums in exchange for issuing more policies in high-risk areas. That includes regulations allowing insurers to consider climate change when setting their prices and allowing them pass on the costs of reinsurance to California consumers. —Trân Nguyễn Associated Press View the full article

The U.S. Department of Justice successfully prosecuted its antitrust case against Google, with Judge Leonie Brinkema ruling that the company operated an illegal monopoly in the advertising technology industry. The court determined that Google engaged in anticompetitive practices that allowed it to dominate critical components of the digital ad market for more than a decade. The details. From the ruling: U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that Google “willfully engaged in anticompetitive acts” to control the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets. The court found Google illegally tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange together through both contracts and technical integration. Google’s practices “substantially harmed” publishers and users across the web. Why we care. This marks Google’s second significant antitrust defeat after losing its search monopoly case earlier. The ruling could fundamentally reshape online advertising. Between the lines. The DOJ successfully argued that Google monopolized three separate markets in the ad tech space: Publisher ad tools. Advertiser ad networks. The ad exchanges that facilitate transactions between them. The government’s case centered on how Google’s dominance allowed it to extract monopoly profits from publishers and advertisers while eliminating viable alternatives. The other side. Google released an official response on X, saying some of their tools don’t harm competition and that they disagree with the Court’s decision: “We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half. The Court found that our advertiser tools and our acquisitions, such as DoubleClick, don’t harm competition. We disagree with the Court’s decision regarding our publisher tools. Publishers have many options and they choose Google because our ad tech tools are simple, affordable and effective.” Google also defended itself by claiming the government’s market definitions were contrived and didn’t reflect reality. The company argued its integrated tools benefited consumers and had legitimate business justifications. What’s next. This ruling comes as Google and the DOJ prepare for the remedies phase of the separate search monopoly case, where the government has proposed breaking up Google by spinning off Chrome and forcing it to syndicate search results. The court will now need to determine appropriate remedies for Google’s ad tech monopoly violations, which could potentially involve structural changes to its advertising business. View the full article

After writing an article on 11 ways to measure brand awareness, I figured now’s also the perfect time for us to get a clearer picture of where we stand today, so we have something solid to measure against when those…Read more ›View the full article

Good news, Android users: You no longer need to pay in order to use Gemini Live's camera and screen share features. Google announced the update in a post on X on Wednesday. The company cited the "great feedback" they received from users' experiences with Gemini Live camera and screen share, and revealed plans to roll out the features to all Android users over the coming weeks. You might even see the options right now. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Gemini Live has come a long way Gemini Live is the conversation mode for Google's AI assistant. Originally, it supported audio-only experiences: You could have a back-and-forth conversation with the chatbot, as if on a phone call with Gemini. However, back in March, Google announced "Gemini Live with Video," which added two key features to the conversation mode: First, you can give Gemini access to your camera and ask it questions about your surroundings. For example, you could point your camera at a sign in another language, and ask Gemini to translate. On the flip side, you can also share your phone's screen with Gemini, and ask it questions about what you're up to. Google originally rolled these new Gemini Live features to the Pixel 9 and Samsung Galaxy S25, and while we knew support for more smartphones were on the way, the company had slated these options as exclusive to Gemini Advanced. If you wanted to share your camera or screen with Gemini Live, you needed to plan to spend $20 a month for the privilege. Following Wednesday's announcement, however, that's no longer the case. As long as your Android phone can run the latest version of the Gemini app, you'll be able to try out these features free of charge. Google must have made the calculation that the expanded user base was worth more than the monthly $20 from a much smaller pool of willing subscribers—likely because of the magnitude of AI training data those extra users will generate for the company. It's a departure from other companies that offer similar features, like OpenAI: You need to pay for ChatGPT Plus to access "advanced voice" mode's camera and screen share features. Lifehacker's David Nield tried out Gemini's camera and screen share features earlier this month when it was exclusive to the Galaxy S25 and Pixel 9. He found that it worked well—to a point, anyway. The bot made mistakes, but most were understandable, like falsely identifying a Fitbit Charge 6 as a Fitbit Charge 5. It could translate social media posts and identify who won a soccer match on website showing the score, but when asked when the game was played, mistook the recent match for one that was played nearly two years prior. These features were available as of Wednesday, April 16, but Google says they will be rolling out over the coming weeks. If you don't see the options yet on the latest version of the Gemini app, just hang tight. View the full article

How many people? What do they do? And more. By Marc Rosenberg The Rosenberg Practice Management Library Go PRO for members-only access to more Marc Rosenberg. View the full article

How many people? What do they do? And more. By Marc Rosenberg The Rosenberg Practice Management Library Go PRO for members-only access to more Marc Rosenberg. View the full article

Google Analytics is rolling out major updates aimed at sharpening marketing insights – boosting data completeness, adding richer context, and flagging issues before they become problems. Key updates. Google announced these updates to Google Analytics 4: Enhanced data completeness. New aggregate IDs and smart fallback tools keep reports accurate even without traditional tracking, helping you see campaign performance clearly while honoring user consent. Updated data presentation. Labels like “(data not available)” and “(not set)” add clarity, helping you spot gaps and know where to take action. Proactive issue detection. A new data quality indicator and auto-generated notes act as early warnings, helping marketers catch and fix tracking issues before they mess with data. If Google Analytics detects issues like large rates of missing session_start events – often caused by misconfigured tags – you will now receive notifications directly in the UI with guidance on how to fix them. What Google is saying. A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land: “These updates are part of our ongoing efforts to improve data quality and help marketers get the insights they need to move their business forward.” Why it matters. Marketers need reliable data attribution more than ever. These update try to address the growing challenge of data loss from privacy changes and consent restrictions. The new features can help maintain measurement accuracy despite these challenges. By flagging implementation problems early and providing specific guidance on fixes, this update should increase the likelihood of making informed decisions based on more reliable data while still respecting user privacy choices. Comparing against first-party data will still be key in ensuring that these new updates are doing what you expect them to. The big picture. These changes come as privacy regulations and browser changes continue to impact how businesses collect and analyze customer data, making accuracy and reliability increasingly critical for informed marketing decisions. The announcement. Google’s Help Center article. View the full article

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week here. Nvidia gets burned by The President on China chips Silicon Valley magnates fell over themselves to placate and appease President Donald The President. Nvidia just found out why that’s no guarantee of success. The company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday that the The President administration will now require a license for the company to sell its H20 chips—the most powerful GPUs still legal for export—to Chinese companies. Nvidia says it will take a $5.5 billion charge in its April quarter earnings reflecting a belief that the license is a permanent requirement and that it has little chance of getting one. With its market cap already down 20% this year, the company watched its shares plunge another 6% in after-hours trading on Tuesday. The license requirement comes after Nvidia had already made overtures toward The President. CEO Jensen Huang recently dined with the president at Mar-a-Lago and has reportedly pledged to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on new U.S. data centers. Following the Mar-a-Lago dinner, NPR reported that the White House had backed off a plan to restrict the H20 chips. But in the end that wasn’t enough to prevent the administration from effectively banning the H20 and gouging out a big chunk of Nvidia’s revenues. “We lower our fair value estimate for wide-moat Nvidia to $125 from $130 as we cut our revenue estimates to exclude China now and in the future,” Morningstar strategist Brian Colello wrote in an investor brief on Wednesday. “We retain our Very High Uncertainty Rating. Shares appear undervalued to us, as tariff concerns are likely weighing on the stock.” You can almost see the shrugged-shoulders emoji next to Colello’s words: Nvidia’s investor downgrade has nothing to do with real demand for its products, which remains very high. The administration claims the export controls stem from national security concerns—that H20 chips would pose a threat should Beijing get control of them. But more likely, The President recognizes Nvidia’s central role in the generative AI boom, and seized on the company’s success as a chess piece in his grudge match against China. The move comes as Chinese AI companies are pulling ahead of their American counterparts in areas like self-driving cars and robotics, and are within striking distance of surpassing the U.S. in frontier model development. Many D.C. and Silicon Valley insiders will applaud the H20 restrictions. After all, they feed the defense sector’s push to bulk up for a military conflict with China (perhaps around Taiwan), and may even slow China’s considerable momentum in AI research. But this zero-sum, winner-take-all approach may have its downsides, too. Chinese company DeepSeek, for example, was spurred to some impressive AI innovation precisely because it was denied top-tier chips from U.S. competitors. And, as the pundit Thomas Friedman pointed out on The Ezra Klein Show, this century’s biggest problems—the environment and AI safety—are world problems that will require cooperation and openness between the world’s two superpowers. And it’s not just Nvidia. Mark Zuckerberg is learning the same lesson: that The President’s loyalty can often seem transactional at best. The Meta CEO is this week being grilled in the witness chair of a government anti-trust action that could break up his company. The President has an obedient, all-GOP commission, and yet he’s done nothing to stop the case. This after Zuckerberg and company gave $2 million to The President’s inauguration fund, stood behind The President at the inauguration, bent the knee at Mar-a-Lago and the White House a number of times, abandoned fact-checking on his social platform, promoted longtime Republicans to high positions within Meta, and discontinued DEI programs at the company. Zuckerberg offered the Federal Trade Commission $450 million, then $1 billion, to keep the case from going to trial, but FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson balked at the numbers and kept the court date. The President didn’t intervene. My guess is that all these tech honchos will eventually learn, in one way or another, what so many others have—the giant black sucking hole that is Donald The President’s ego simply can’t be appeased. OpenAI releases its newest reasoning model, o3 OpenAI on Wednesday unveiled its next flagship reasoning model, called o3. As the second generation of OpenAI’s “thinking” models, o3 can quickly gather contextual data and follow multiple reasoning paths to a correct answer—all in real time in response to a user prompt. OpenAI says the new o3 model outperforms the o1 series in every respect and will replace it. A key advance lies in o3’s ability to use external tools to arrive at sound answers. For instance, it might review all the published papers on a specific research problem before crafting its own novel answer, or reason over the contents of an uploaded image. “The combined power of state-of-the-art reasoning with full tool access translates into significantly stronger performance across academic benchmarks and real-world tasks,” OpenAI said in a blog post published Wednesday. According to OpenAI, the o3 model earned state-of-the-art status atop the Codeforces (coding skill), SWE-bench (software engineering skill), and MMMU (visual and textual reasoning skill) benchmark tests. OpenAI says it used 10 times more computing power to train the o3 model than the o1, utilizing new reinforcement learning that incorporates either human or synthetic feedback to improve the quality of its answers. “To me the magic is that under the hood it’s still just next-token prediction,” OpenAI President Greg Brockman said during a livestreamed demo Wednesday. “We’ve changed the objective, changed where the data comes from, and now we’re able to really hook it up to the world.” Alongside o3, OpenAI also released a smaller, faster, and more budget-friendly reasoning model called o4-mini, which the company says excels in math, coding, and visual tasks. In addition, the company introduced Codex CLI, a desktop coding assistant that is powered by the o3 and o4-mini models. A “vibe shift” in the way enterprises are talking about AI and the workforce When corporate executives say AI will usher in a new age of efficiency, what exactly do they mean? At first blush, it sounds like an opportunity to cut down on labor costs (personnel-related headaches). But the truth is more complicated. Over the past year, people in both the corporate and technology worlds have been quick to stress that AI will assist human workers, not replace them. And that narrative has been picked up by people at the management level, as a new survey from Beautiful.ai seems to suggest. The firm, which sells an AI presentation builder, surveyed 3,000 managers and found that as AI tool use in the workplace rises, most doubt that AI can or should replace human workers. The percentage who said their teams wouldn’t function well if some humans were replaced by AI rose 20% over last year’s survey, to 63% of respondents. And only 30% think replacing staff with AI would be financially beneficial—down 17% from 2024. Meanwhile, 65% say employee resistance to AI remains a top concern. It’s hard to say how much these managers are simply parroting the PR du jour to a surveyor. But it does raise the concern that as real workers begin to gain experience with AI tools, confidence in their potential for actually altering workflows doesn’t seem to be growing. Meanwhile, a survey by HR software provider G-P finds that 67% of U.S. executives remain willing to cut headcount and use AI to become 50% more productive. More AI coverage from Fast Company: What ‘Ex Machina’ got right (and wrong) about AI, 10 years later Docusign expands beyond signatures with new AI-powered contract management tools The next big AI shift in media? Turning news into a 2-way conversation Krea, an Adobe for the AI era, discusses its $500 million vision Want exclusive reporting and trend analysis on technology, business innovation, future of work, and design? Sign up for Fast Company Premium. View the full article

Today's Bissett Bullet: “Positive change in our firms happens when we decide to hold ourselves accountable for achieving the change and hire proven catalysts to help.” By Martin Bissett See more Bissett Bullets here Go PRO for members-only access to more Martin Bissett. View the full article