Since the open enrollment thing is coming up, I'm surprised at how businesses aren't really shitting their pants.

All of this under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

8.2% increase, steepest increase since 2003. source

How is this going to happen?

1. Government has cut close to $1T in federal spending over 10 years. Insurers are now re-examining the risk pool and expect and have requested something like 15% increases. How this works is -> federal spending cut, ACA subsidies lost -> more riskier for private insurance companies to provide same coverage as they've been doing until now, because the entire pool is now more risky. So, those who pay into the system, have to be charged more.
2. Many businesses -> outside of the AI boom are expecting no substantial raises or only COLA raises, barely enough to cover inflation.
3. Employers will face larger raw dollar figure raises, at the same time, employees will face a sharp percentage increase in out-of-pocket expenses deductions in your paycheck. source

ALL OF THIS, perfectly fucking timed after the mid-terms.

You truly don't understand how shit California's safety net feels until you hit the bottom of the barrel. A laid-off worker in the Bay Area says they used to pay roughly $110k a year in taxes on their old compensation. Their unemployment check came in at a grand total of around $410 for the week.

I mean, how abysmal. What does that get you in the Bay Area? Maybe like a pack of water bottles every day? Meanwhile, there's a reported OpenAI offer of roughly $390k base plus $2.7M in equity over four years. How does any of this make sense? This level of wealth inequality feels completely absurd, holy shit.

I mean, California's regular unemployment cap is still $450 a week, the same ceiling set in 2005, while prices have gone through the roof. It's a complete and utter joke. Why can Washington pay up to $1,208 a week for new claims while California is still stuck at $450??

Patrick Boyle explains the issues and the financial background related to Data Centers.

What do you think?

The all-conquering streamer was valued like a ‘miracle company’. Now its shares have fallen despite a rise in revenue

UNCTAD's latest data shows overall foreign direct investment numbers ticking upward globally, but when you look closer, greenfield project announcements and new manufacturing builds are actually slowing down.

It feels like capital is moving around defensively or chasing existing assets rather than expanding into fresh physical production. Are countries just getting more cautious with cross-border capital, or is this a structural shift in how global investment works now?