David Lidsky's Blog, page 187

Why does Trump want Greenland, anyway?

As Usha Vance and Mike Waltz prepare to visit the autonomous territory of Denmark, we explore the logic behind Trump’s fixation.

President Donald Trump has said a lot of alarming things, but one comment that is sounding alarm bells across the Atlantic, from U.S. shores to Denmark, is his statement: “One way or another, we’re going to get [Greenland].”

It’s official: China’s BYD is outselling Tesla

The news comes as Tesla faces headwinds on multiple fronts, from Elon Musk’s politically divisive DOGE to a recent recall of nearly every Cybertruck.

BYD, China’s largest maker of electronic vehicles, surpassed $100 billion in sales last year, beating out its beleaguered American competitor Tesla.

Social Security Fairness Act: These 3 million Americans are eligible for increased benefits as Biden-era law kicks in

Retired teachers, firefighters, and police officers could be among those getting a bump of up to $1,000-plus in their monthly checks.

Finally, some good news from the Social Security Administration (SSA): Over three million retirees and their spouses, including some teachers, firefighters, police officers, and federal employees, will see a bump in their Social Security benefits by the end of the month, thanks to a law President Joe Biden signed before leaving office in January, called the Social Security Fairness Act.

Housing markets in Florida and Texas are so weak that builder Lennar spent the most on buyer incentives since 2009

America’s second-largest homebuilder Lennar spent the equivalent of 13% of home sales on buyer incentives last quarter. For a $400,000 home, that translates to $52,000 in incentives.

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter.

Saratoga Spring Water gets caught up in an influencer’s viral morning routine

A highly imitated and satirized workout video from TikTokker Ashton Hall was notable for the heavy presence of blue water bottles.

3:52 a.m.: Wake up.

How to cautiously use health advice from social media

In general, consumers should take all bold claims about health with a degree of skepticism.

In the corners of social media dominated by wellness content, influencers recommend an assortment of treatments and products to support weight loss, fight exhaustion, or promote other desired health outcomes.

Some of the endorsed approaches may be helpful. Many play into fads with scant evidence to back up enthusiasts’ claims, medical experts say.

Some influencers encourage their followers to avoid specific food items, such as seed oils, while others advocate going all in on certain foods, such as the meat-heavy carnivore diet. There are video pitches for berberine, a chemical compound that’s been touted online as “nature’s Ozempic,” and for nonmedical IV vitamin therapy, which businesses popularly known as drip bars market as cures for hangovers or fatigue.

To be sure, alternative health practices and cures that lacked the medical establishment’s backing were a part of popular culture long before the internet age. But the plethora of advice shared online has both prompted calls for safeguards and found a measure of mainstream acceptance.

The new U.S. health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had his Instagram account suspended in 2021 for posting misinformation about vaccine safety and COVID-19, but many of the ideas he champions have a widespread following. Critics of Dr. Mehmet Oz accused him of sometimes making misleading assertions on the talk show he used to host; Oz now is President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.

A Netflix series released last month explored the story of Belle Gibson, a popular Australian wellness influencer who amassed a following talking about curing her terminal brain cancer with a healthy lifestyle and alternative medicine. In 2015, Gibson admitted to lying about having a cancer diagnosis. Australia’s federal court later fined her for failing to donate money she said would go to charity through sales of her cookbook and app.

With personal wellness remaining a hot topic, here are some tips health experts have for evaluating the material you see online:

Could Tesla’s fall from grace upend the entire U.S. EV market?

The dominant EV maker in the nation is now a partisan lightning rod that’s losing value fast. But a weakened giant can cause harm regardless of politics.

When people are protesting at an automaker’s retail locations because of the CEO’s political actions, when that automaker’s sales are plummeting around the world, when that company’s vehicle lineup is sorely in need of a hot new model or redesign that isn’t coming any time soon, and when that company’s market valuation is based largely on the promise of technological advancements that have yet to be demonstrated, that company is in trouble.

What happens to mortgage rates if conservatorship ends for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae?

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae could be released from conservatorship if doing so doesn’t push up mortgage rates.

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter.

How to know if a shorter workday is best for your company

The four-day workweek has grown in popularity. But flexibility—and a shorter workday—may be a more realistic approach.

There has been lots of chatter in the past few years about the benefits of a shorter workweek, as some companies have tested out four-day work schedules and other variations on the traditional workweek.

How to retire when the stock market is plummeting

If your retirement plans coincide with a market downturn, it may seem like panicking is your only option. Here’s how you can take back control.

Retirement should feel liberating rather than terrifying. But when an egg-salad sandwich costs more than your first bicycle, the stock market is making like Tom Petty, and economists are bending themselves into pretzels to avoid saying the word “recession,” retirement can feel hazardous to your financial health.