You know it’s really bad when the ones with private jets start to panic. According to a recent survey, corporate leaders are becoming increasingly concerned about the direction of the US economy… and many expect it to only get worse in the coming months.

The survey, which polled 141 Fortune 500 CEOs, found their confidence score dropped 12 points to 47 this quarter, falling below the threshold typically associated with optimism.

The mood darkened pretty quickly:

Why the cynicism? Well, mostly the same reasons that everyday people have for not being happy with the economy. Executives cited supply chain disruptions, high inflation, ludicrous fuel prices (which affect PJs and yachts too), and geopolitical uncertainty as the main factors contributing to the increasingly dire outlook.

Speaking of everyday citizens… The Conference Board, which oversaw the survey, found that consumer confidence also fell last month, shortly after a similar report from the University of Michigan showed the economic indicator was at an all-time low.

After spending the past year encouraging employees to use AI as much as possible, many large companies are now trying to restrict its use as the technology's costs have begun to pile up.

Some businesses have reportedly burned through their yearly AI budgets in just a few months because employees are using them so much.

The biggest culprit is the cost of AI tokens, or the units used to measure computing power and model usage. Some workers are using as many of them as digitally possible in order to be seen as AI-forward, a practice known as “tokenmaxxing.”

That’s the opposite effect companies were trying to inspire:

Tokenmaxxing is over: Other major companies, including Uber, Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce, and DoorDash, are also trying to ensure AI use actually improves productivity, with some steering workers toward cheaper in-house tools, while others are limiting access to the most expensive models.

Was spending all of those tokens worth it? Not according to Uber COO Andrew Macdonald. Last week, Macdonald pushed back on the idea that bigger AI bills automatically mean better performance, saying that the connection simply “is not there.”

Just as the US enters prime hurricane season, the WSJ found a growing number of homeowners aren’t getting compensated for weather damage despite having coverage for exactly that.

According to industry data cited by the Wall Street Journal, the five largest home insurance companies didn’t get relief on almost half of home insurance claims. The analysis states that:

Why? Insurance companies say the main reasons are the increasing use of new risk assessment methods (shifting away from historical models to predictive models), the rising cost of extreme weather damage (which quintupled from 2018 to 2022), and the growing use of higher deductibles (many claims now never reach the payout threshold).

Pay more, get less: Insurers have had to boost prices thanks to inflation, labor shortages, disaster costs, and more expensive building materials, often leaving homeowners paying more for insurance while receiving less protection than they expect. In a recent Pew Research Center survey, 42% of homeowners said home insurance premiums have increased by “a lot” over the past few years.

We’re tracking this issue live on NextGen+. Click the button below to see its status, momentum, and other key developments.

What’s changing in how companies expand globally?

Hiring internationally used to mean opening entities, navigating months of legal setup, and building local infrastructure before making a single hire.

That model is starting to shift.

More companies are using EOR not just as a temporary solution, but as a strategic way to access talent faster, test new markets with less risk, and scale globally without adding operational complexity too early.

But the biggest change may not be the hiring model itself. It’s how companies think about expansion.

Instead of building infrastructure first and hiring second, many teams are now hiring where the best talent already exists — and building strategy around that reality.

Oyster’s Strategic EOR Whitepaper explores how modern companies are using EOR to scale internationally, where the model works best, and why the global expansion playbook is evolving faster than most leaders realize.

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Dell’s stock skyrocketed 35% last Thursday after the company released its very strong earnings report. As of writing, its stock is now up 50% from the release and has ballooned over 260% from the start of the year.

Dell $DELL ( ▲ 10.7% ) has largely been propped up by the AI boom, since the computer maker also happens to assemble and sell high-powered servers needed to run AI models, a market that’s hugely in demand:

Those numbers will only grow: Such strong demand for AI products has prompted Dell to raise its revenue forecast for next year to $167 billion from $140 billion, according to Bloomberg. The company expects AI server sales alone to contribute roughly $60 billion.

The government also played a part… when Dell landed a $9.7 billion Pentagon contract to manage Microsoft software and cloud services across the military, giving investors another reason to pile into the stock.

Meta officially launched paid subscriptions for its biggest platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in one of the company's greatest efforts yet to diversify beyond advertising revenue.

Influencers (or those who don’t have a better way to spend their money) can now subscribe to premium tiers that offer enhanced features and expanded account tools across Meta’s app ecosystem.

For Facebook and Instagram, that means:

But that’s not the end of it: For $2.99 a month, WhatsApp users will be able to personalize themes, pin more chats, and unlock premium stickers. Paid AI subscriptions are also coming; users can pay either $7.99 or $19.99 a month for more compute power.

Much like a 50-year-old startup founder, Meta $META ( ▼ 5.07% ) really needs to diversify its income. Subscriptions can be a way of doing that:

AI will play a big part: While the initial subscriptions focus on premium app features, Meta says future plans will heavily rely on AI features like premium AI assistants, content creation tools, and business automation features, which will eventually become key parts of higher-tier subscription packages.

Why go so big on AI? As Meta increasingly dumps hundreds of billions into AI infrastructure, investors want proof that the spending will eventually pay off.

> A luxury doomsday bunker community built to survive societal collapse is instead being torn apart by lawsuits, feuds, shootings, and HOA-style disputes among its own residents.

> Engineers have developed a new technique for extracting lithium—which is a key component in everything from phones to cars—from rock that produces far less toxic waste than current methods.

> New fossil evidence suggests certain spinosaurs could literally cry salty tears, using specialized glands to remove excess salt while hunting in aquatic environments.

> Over $230 million in gold, cash, watches, and luxury properties tied to a Sicilian Mafia money-laundering network were seized after a massive international investigation led by Italian authorities.

> Prosecutors say a former CIA officer may have stolen $40 million in public funds to buy hundreds of gold bars. When authorities searched his home, they also reportedly found millions in cash and dozens of luxury watches.