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4 casual restaurants run by Michelin-starred chefs

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bywater

Four of the country’s most celebrated Michelin three-star chefs are joining the casual-dining trend with exciting new spots of their own.

The Bywater Los Gatos - David Kinch

The Three-Star Chef: David Kinch 
Manresa, Los Gatos, Calif.

His New Casual Spot
The Bywater Los Gatos (thebywaterca.com), a “neighborhood joint” that opened in January serving the food of New Orleans, where Kinch started his career.

Comfort Factor
Tile floor, tin roof, ceiling fans, and bistro chairs—the whole Big Easy vibe.

Signature Dish
Oysters Rock-a-fella ($24), made with spinach-and-watercress puree, Herbsaint, and shellfish hollandaise. “It’s my favorite dish,” Kinch says. “It personifies the city.”

What We’re Drinking
A frozen daiquiri. With two kinds of rum, cane sugar, and fresh lime and pomegranate juices, it’s a serious cocktail that happens to be churned in a machine and served in a “go cup.”

Three-Star Holdover
Technique. Kinch’s fried chicken takes 2.5 days to make, including brining, air-drying, double coating, and frying in lard.



Roister - Grant Achatz

The Three-Star Chef: Grant Achatz
Alinea, Chicago

His New Casual Spot
Roister (roisterrestaurant.com),  which Achatz calls a “loud, bold, delicious à la carte restaurant” in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, opened in March.

Comfort Factor
Loud indeed, and boisterous, with an open hearth dominating the space. Grab a seat at the large counter facing the kitchen. 

Signature Dish
A 7-ounce A5 Japanese wagyu steak ($110), one of several dishes intended to feed the table: seared over fire, sliced, and draped with sea-urchin butter and togarashi spice.

What We’re Drinking
Evil Twin sour pale ale, a Seattle dry cider from Roister’s list of unusual wines, beers, and ciders from around the world. 

Three-Star Holdover
The larder. Lobster, foie gras, A5 wagyu beef, oysters, truffles—it’s all here. 



The Charter Oak - Christopher Kostow

The Three-Star Chef: Christopher Kostow
The Restaurant at Meadowood, Napa Valley

His New Casual Spot
The Charter Oak (thecharteroak.com), located in the formidable stone building in St. Helena, Calif., that was formerly Tra Vigne, is due to open by the end of the year.  

Comfort Factor
With live-fire cooking, family-style service, and communal tables, Kostow plans to strip away the formal trappings of Meadowood for an “elemental” experience (at about a quarter of the price).

Signature Dish
Plucked from the restaurant’s 3-acre garden, tomatoes will be slowly smoked over the fire and served with house-made yogurt and salted plums.

What We’re Drinking
Wine, chosen from a list focused on Napa Valley. Kostow’s current favorite selection: Massican Sauvignon Blanc. 

Three-Star Holdover
Custom ceramics. The Charter Oak’s dinnerware is by Napa ceramists Kelly Farley and Richard Carter, who created some of the artistic dinnerware at Meadowood.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

How to get the exact haircut you want

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haircutIn an ideal world, going in to get a haircut would be a smooth, painless endeavor. Your barber would be someone you trust, who knows exactly how you want your locks to look, and as you walk into the shop, they'd greet you with a smile and just the right amount of conversation: not too much that you can't relax, but not so little that the silence would be deafening. After securing the cape around your neck (to the perfect tightness, of course), they'd go to work without any need for instruction, trimming to exactly the specifications you would have requested had that been necessary. A snip here, a shave there, in fifteen minutes they'd be done, and you'd walk away not only satisfied but deeply pleased — you know, the same feeling you get when you order a steak medium-rare and, sure enough, your meat reveals a perfect level of pink upon your cutting it open.

Sadly, though, more often than not that's not how the experience ends up going down. Maybe your usual guy/gal is out of town and you’re stuck with someone new chopping wildly at your mane. Or maybe you've decided you want a change of pace, follicularly, but simply aren't sure how to articulate that to the person wielding the scissors. In any case, the fact is that every once in awhile, you’re going to need to speak up about exactly what you're looking for in order to get the best result possible. For just such an occasion, we've compiled all the specific questions you need to be able to answer before the first strand falls to the barber shop floor.

SEE ALSO: 6 grooming skills every guy should should know before they turn 25

What overall style are you going for?

Above all else, this is the most important piece of information you need to be able to communicate to your stylist when getting a haircut. Tell it right, and all the rest should fall into place relatively easily. Tell it not-so-right, and the chance that you walk away disappointed will skyrocket. So figure out what you want, and figure out how to express it to another person. Bring a picture if you have to. Or, maybe, a guide.



Do you like structure, or do you style your mane more on the messy side?

Once you've told them your overall hopes and dreams for your cut, many barbers will then ask what vibe you're going for with your 'do; i.e. are you going to style it more conservatively, or are you going to be embracing the current trend of more messed-up manes? Or, do you want a 'do that can do both? Depending on your answer, a quality stylist will then be able to make a few decisions of their own with respect to things like texture, edges and the use of of thinning shears.



How long do you want it?

Now that you've got the general chop down, and how you plan on styling it, time to get down to the nitty gritty. To start, there's the question of length. For longer cuts, the answer's easy: simply show them where you want the base of your hair to land and they’ll figure out where to go from there. For shorter cuts, though, there tend to be follow-up questions. Such as, how much of a contrast do you want from the sides to the top, in any at all? And do you want to be able to see skin through the hair? How much? Essentially any haircut can be adjusted to meet your preferences here, so don’t be shy.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

These are the 9 best banks to work for on Wall Street

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wall streetThere has been big shift on Wall Street.

Vault.com just released its annual ranking of the best banks to work for, examining factors like culture, satisfaction, work/life balance, training, compensation and overall prestige. 

The career site asked about 3,000 banking professionals to rate their peer firms on a scale of 1 to 10, and used a weighted formula of their responses to come out with the list.

This year, Goldman Sachs came out on top, a spot it hasn't held since 2011. This is largely due to the swath of changes it's made to improve working conditions, which includes a no-working-past-midnight policy for interns, earlier promotions for its junior bankers and a more qualitative feedback system.

A number of boutique firms also moved up on Vault's list.

Here's the full ranking:

SEE ALSO: An acquisition to form one of the world's largest energy infrastructure companies will make bankers nearly $100 million

9. Moelis & Company

Moelis & Company jumped 7 spots to No. 9 in this year's ranking. It also broke into the top 10 most prestigious banks, jumping three spots to No. 10. 

Pros:
  • “Learning opportunities: a lot of deal and client exposure”
  • “Great pay”
  • “Exit opportunities”

Cons:

  • “Long hours”
  • “Work/life balance”
  • “Infrastructure”
The Buzz:
  • “Smart people, complicated engagements”
  • “Sweatshop; very hardcore and intense”
  • “Strong middle-market deal flow”
  • “Hires MDs left and right and left but not sure about their quality”


8. Perella Weinberg Partners

Perella Weinberg Partners was No. 1 for the best banking firms for benefits, and No.2 for the best banking firms for vacation policies. 

Pros:

  • “Smart, dedicated, high caliber colleagues that you enjoy spending time with and learning from”
  • “Fantastic small-firm culture means analysts and associates feel more connected to senior members”
  • “Working on challenging, high profile deals”
Cons:
  • “Hours can be grueling and unpredictable”
  • “Amount of responsibility can be stressful”
  • “Not well known internationally”
The Buzz:
  • “Great boutique”
  • “Just lost their restructuring team but still good in M&A”
  • “Good competitors”


7. Greenhill & Co.

Greenhill was No. 3 for best banking firms for hours, and No. 5 for best banking firms for LGBT individuals.

Pros:

  • “Tremendous amount of responsibility”
  • “Blue-chip clients”
  • “Excellent exit opportunities”
Cons:
  • “Hours can be long”
  • “Fewer back-office resources than larger institutions”
  • “Little opportunity for promotion at the analyst level”

The Buzz:

  • “Great boutique with a high quality M&A advisory business”
  • “Trending downward after a great run”
  • “Smart people, complicated engagements”
  • “Have fallen off in last few years”


See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 9 countries where expats work the fewest hours

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wine tasting room in Bordeaux FranceIt is September – the month of grey clouds, finished holidays, and email backlogs.

If the thought of working abroad has crossed your mind then you could do worse than look at a comprehensive report by InterNations, an expat networking website.

The group surveyed 14,000 people who had left their country to work somewhere else to find out where people are happiest.

The survey accounted for different factors, such as ease of settling in, quality of life, and cost of living to decide the rankings of countries.

It also surveyed how many hours expats found themselves doing in an average week. 

Here are the 9 destinations where you might spend the shortest amount of time in the office.

9. New Zealand: 42.2 hours per week. New Zealand comes out on top in terms of work-life balance alone, beating Denmark and Luxembourg, who are in second and third place, respectively.



8. Luxembourg: 41.8 hours per week. Luxembourg ranks number one for a stable economy, safe jobs, and a healthy work-life balance.



7. Norway: 41.7 hours per week. Along with having short work hours, Norway tops the list for the best work/life balance.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

These are the 12 most popular private jet destinations every year

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Private jet JetSmarter

If you are ultra-rich, turning up to an event in a private jet is all part of being in one the world's most exclusive clubs.

Owning a private jet is not only incredibly luxurious, it is amazingly practical in terms of time and security, especially if your work requires you to attend exclusive events around the world.

Every year, luxury estate agents Knight Frank and high net worth individual research firm Wealth-X release a massive report on everything the world's richest spend their money on, where they go, and what makes them tick.

In the report it also gives some fascinating insight into when and where the world's richest use their private jets and what events trigger these trips.

Davos Switzerland — The World Economic Forum brings together thousands of the most rich and powerful people in the world every January for a conference. So it is only natural that the alpine town is beset with private jets for the duration of the meeting.



The Superbowl, US — The incredibly popular NFL event in February has seen private jet traffic decline between 2012 and 2014. But some 50% of the existing traffic comes from non-US nationals looking to be there for the famous half-time show as well as the actual game.



The Masters Augusta, US — The golfing tournament is a go-to event for the wealthy in Georgia every April. The report says there has been an 18% rise in private jet traffic between 2012 to 2014.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

13 markets where you're most likely to see vacant, 'zombie' homes

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Detroit

The housing market, despite new problems cropping up, has pulled itself out of the depths of its crisis from 2007 to 2009.

Foreclosure rates have fallen back to their pre-crisis averages and vacancy rates have declined as well.

This, however, is a bird's eye view of the whole situation. Housing is a local issue, and different cities have weathered the storm of the crisis differently.

One of the indelible marks of the crisis was the empty, foreclosed homes. While foreclosures take a long time and can leave people living in a foreclosed home, the boarded-up, foreclosed home was an unforgettable mark from the crisis.

ATTOM Data Solutions, formerly known as RealtyTrac, calls these "zombie" homes. "Zombie" homes have declined nationwide since the peak of the crisis, according to ATTOM, but in some markets they are more prevalent than others.

We've taken ATTOM's data and compiled a list of the 13 large housing markets in which "zombie" homes make up at least 7% of all foreclosed homes.

Check out the markets below.

Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL

Percent of foreclosed homes that are "zombie" homes: 7.2%

Total number of "zombie" homes: 127

Number of homes in foreclosure: 1,775 

Total vacancy rate: 2.4%

Total number of vacant homes: 5,749

 

Source: ATTOM Data Solutions



Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

Percent of foreclosed homes that are "zombie" homes: 7.4%

Total number of "zombie" homes: 603

Number of homes in foreclosure: 8,146 

Total vacancy rate: 2.8%

Total number of vacant homes: 27,190

 

Source: ATTOM Data Solutions



North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL

Percent of foreclosed homes that are "zombie" homes: 7.4%

Total number of "zombie" homes: 111

Number of homes in foreclosure: 1,491 

Total vacancy rate: 2.6%

Total number of vacant homes: 8,161

 

Source: ATTOM Data Solutions



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Inside Mike Ashley's 'gulag': We took a tour around a Sports Direct warehouse

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Mike Ashley, Sports Direct

Mike Ashley's guided tour of the Sports Direct warehouse was perhaps the most bizarre part of an "open day" that moved between stage-managed PR exercises and angry outbursts from the company's billionaire founder at the group's Annual General Meeting.

Allegations of harassment, abuse and illegal working practices in the Derbyshire warehouse have formed a central part of the criticism levelled against the company since a Guardian exposé caused widespread outrage last year when workers described working there as a "gulag."

Since then UK politicians have called for major reforms to working practices and corporate governance at Sports Direct, after publishing a damning report comparing working conditions at the retailer's warehouses to "a Victorian workhouse." 

However, in a gesture of public accountability, Ashley took a group of reporters and shareholders, dressed in hi-vis jackets, around the retailer's new warehouse facility, which is used largely for fulfilling online orders.

It quickly became clear that Ashley's priority for the tour was emphasising the "sheer size and scale" of the whole operation, which he believes explains why mistakes were not noticed and abusive working practices were allowed to flourish.

Here is what Business Insider saw when we went on the tour with Ashley.

Ashley started the tour in a good mood and posed for photos despite having shouted at a Unite employee only moments before at the group's AGM nearby.



It didn't last long, however. When a reporter asked for the third time if Ashley was sorry for revelations about abusive working practices, he turned and snapped: "Of course I'm sorry. Who wouldn't be? But we're trying to be positive here, we're trying to do things right."



"People really struggle with the size and scale of things here," Ashley said. This empty warehouse has been created to provide extra room for stock. That, he said, was proof that the board do plan things in advance, contrary to the widespread perception of poor corporate planning. "So we do think about things more than we maybe communicate," he said.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The fabulous life of billionaire Michael Dell, who just completed a $67 billion mega-deal to cement his empire

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Michael Dell

On September 7, Michael Dell once again defied the naysayers and closed the largest technology acquisition in history, the $65 billion purchase of EMC.

With an estimated net worth of $20 billion, Dell is one of the wealthiest people in the world. 

From his early career as one of the youngest CEOs of a Fortune 500 company until today, Dell is used to getting his way.

He was only 23 when his company had its IPO in 1988, and soon he was a billionaire. 

Dell lives the extravagant life of a successful businessman as well, complete with all of the private planes, summer homes, and sweet rides you'd expect from a billionaire. 

SEE ALSO: These are the 10 best countries for computer programming — and the US didn't make the list

Michael Dell was born on Feb. 23, 1965, in Houston, Texas. He was fascinated with gadgets from a young age — when he was 15, he bought one of the first Apple computers and disassembled it to see if he could put it back together.

Source: Academy of Achievement



When he was in high school, he got a job selling newspaper subscriptions. After figuring out how to target an untapped customer base, he made $18,000 in just one year.

Source: Academy of Achievement



Though he was really only interested in computers, Dell entered the University of Texas at Austin as a pre-med student in 1983. He spent his spare time upgrading PCs and selling them from his dorm room, making $180,000 in his first month of business. Though he never came back for his sophomore year of classes, he returned to his dorm for a photo opp in 1999.

Source: Entrepreneur



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's everything we know about the new PlayStation 4 Pro

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PlayStation Pro

At Wednesday's PlayStation event in New York, Sony finally, officially, showed off the PlayStation 4 Pro.

The console, which is set to launch this November at $399, is a serious upgrade to the original PS4 in terms of horsepower.

Here's everything you need to know about the PlayStation 4 Pro:

The PlayStation 4 Neo is a pretty big jump in power, but it's not a brand new console

The PlayStation 4 Pro is slightly different internally from the current PS4. It's not a gigantic jump in power, but it is a notable lift. Here's the full rundown, care of leaked specs:

—Support for 4K resolution and high dynamic range (or HDR) on TVs that support them.

—More graphics processing power so traditional and virtual reality games can look and perform better.

—A 1TB hard drive.



Going forward, games will look better on Neo, but there will be no Neo-exclusive games

Every PlayStation 4 game is going to work on every PlayStation 4 console. How each game works depends on which console you have.

Going forward, developers will be expected to build games for "base" PS4 consoles as well as Pro consoles. You won't have to buy separate versions of each game; it will automatically switch depending on which kind of console you play it on.

The Pro versions of games should look and perform better than their base counterparts, but it will be different from game to game.



The PlayStation 4 Neo is not the same as the PlayStation 4 Slim

You may have noticed that Sony also announced another new device, the PlayStation 4 Slim. This is not the same as the PlayStation 4 Pro.

The Slim is a smaller version of the original PS4. The same thing happened to the PS2 and PS3 a few years after those consoles came out. It will not have the same leap in horsepower as the Neo.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's what a showrunner — the top job in TV — actually does

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joffrey game of thrones

Even a casual TV fan has seen the word "showrunner" thrown around. But what does it really mean and what is a showrunner in charge of?

When it comes to the making of a TV show, the showrunner is the top of the food chain.

"It’s a weird amalgam of a creative job and a management job that I’m sure exists in other industries, but I haven’t yet come across the equivalent of it yet. It’s pretty bizarre, I think," Remi Aubuchon, a veteran producer and the showrunner for Playstation Network's recently canceled "Powers," told Business Insider.

"Being a showrunner is basically like babysitting versus parenting," Bravo's "Odd Mom Out" co-showrunner Julie Rottenberg told us, "because suddenly the baby is yours, you can’t just leave at six o’clock when it’s time. And you’re pretty much responsible for every aspect of the show."

Most showrunners start out as writers, and she thinks it's a bit of a miracle that anyone fits the job description.

"I find it amazing that writers, who are often not well-suited for managerial roles, are the people who wind up running things," Rottenberg said. "I feel like if you find someone who’s a great writer, and then is also really great at managing people, it feels amazing to me that that happens as often as it does, because they’re really two very different parts of your brain."

Business Insider talked to several TV showrunners to shed some light on the "bizarre" but essential roles they play in the job: 

SEE ALSO: Here are the 10 rising Hollywood stars who are taking over TV in the fall

DON'T MISS: The 10 best and worst TV shows this summer

Showrunners are in charge of making the most of a budget.

"A lot of the showrunner’s job is figuring out how to balance the amount of money that you have, the time that you have with which to do it, and try to get the best product that you can out of what you’ve got available,"Aubuchon said. "I think if everybody had $10 million an episode, it probably would be a no-brainer, but that’s not how it works that I know of anywhere. If it does, let me know."

 



A showrunner has to make sure everyone feels valuable.

"A great showrunner isn’t a dictator, they’re curators," said Martin Gero, the showrunner for NBC's hit drama "Blindspot.""You’re working with all these creative people, you don’t want to be like, ‘Here’s what I want. You’ll do exactly what I say.’ You want it to be a collective, but at the end of the day, somebody’s got to have the final word, and the showrunner’s the final word."

Rottenberg agrees: "You have to both be a very clear and strong leader, but also very open to people’s ideas and making people feel that they’re a part of the process because they are. This is such a collaborative medium, where everyone I think looks better and does better work when they feel invested in the finished product."



A showrunner protects the show's creative vision.

"A showrunner has to advocate for the creative aspect of the show, and that’s harder than it looks sometimes especially when I have to sign the budget every week," Aubuchon told us. "And I have to be responsible and conscious, and 'Powers' is a really great example... There’s lots of elements to that show that could really jack up the cost of the show. And the tendency, especially in the production world, is to want to simplify and go for the easiest and less expensive version of that, and my job is to actually say, ‘No, no, no, I want it to be like this and we need to figure out a way to make it happen.'"

"Odd Mom Out" co-showrunner Elisa Zuritsky, who has known her partner Rottenberg since they were both in elementary school, said, "The toughest balancing act I think as a showrunner is knowing what you want and having a clear sense of the show you want to put out there while still allowing for other voices to change your perception or make it better, ultimately. It’s one of the most collaborative jobs, I think, a person could have."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A definitive breakdown of the sorry state of Wall Street

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wall street trader sad

Wall Street banks are having a terrible year.

Total revenue across the top 10 banks was down in the first six months of the year, according to the research firm Coalition. The total of $79.3 billion was 15% less than the $93.3 billion in the first half of 2015 and 23% less than the $102.4 billion in the first half of 2011. Barely a single business line was spared.

From fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) to equities to traditional investment banking, revenues dropped sharply. Let's take a look:

The headline numbers are grim: FICC revenue fell 11%, equities revenue fell 18%, and fees from traditional investment-banking activities like advising on acquisitions and equity and debt deals fell 20%.



Almost every single business unit within FICC took a hit. Banks made less money trading: corporate bonds; currencies; commodities; emerging markets; and securitized assets.



There was a similar story in equities. Stock trading, equity derivatives, and prime services revenues fell.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 10 most luxurious first-class plane cabins in the world

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One of the best parts about having expendable money has to be flying in style.

singapore airlines first class

Being on a plane can be brutal — especially when traveling internationally — but a queen-sized bed, personal shower, or butler could definitely turn that experience around.

Scroll down for a look at the 10 most luxurious first-class cabins money can buy.

SEE ALSO: These luxurious private jets are probably nicer than your home

10. British Airway's first class cabin on the 787-9 Dreamliner features a 23-inch display screen that's controlled with a touchscreen remote control located in the seat console.



Each seat also has two USB ports and a personal locker that comes with a mirror for in-flight touch ups. A one-way ticket from London to New Delhi will set you back about $5,000.



9. The first class cabins on Japan Airline's Sky Suite 777 have Woodgrain interiors and are closed off from the rest of the plane for added privacy. You can book a flight with the suite next month, but until then there's no word on price.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

6 secret code systems that help prevent mass panic

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china crowd nervous panic

If you need to keep people safe in a time of crisis or emergency, the best thing to do might be to keep them in the dark about what's going on.

When police, hospital staff, and other institutions or organizations have to communicate with each other without sending the public into a panic, they use secret codes to tell each other what's happening. 

Here are a few of them.

SEE ALSO: 5 strange jobs that could exist by 2030

Hospitals use colors to signal various kinds of emergencies.

In 2008, the Washington State Hospital Association and the Oregon Association of Hospitals & Health Systems standardized color codes for emergencies in all of their hospitals. "Red" means there's a fire, and "black" indicates a bomb threat. "Code Silver" refers to weapons or hostage situations, and "Code Gray" means there are combative or violent persons on the premises.

For medical emergencies involving people in need of resuscitation, emergency staff call "Code Blue."



Some malls and convention centers use the word 'Nora' when calling for help.

If you're dealing with a violent or otherwise belligerent person and don't want to further aggravate them by calling law enforcement, one way to deal with that is to ask for Nora.

The name is actually an acronym that stands for "Need Officer Right Away." While it's not always the standard, places like the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu and the Montgomery Mall in Alabama use the code to discreetly call law enforcement. 



Ship crew members use a variety of phrases to indicate men have gone overboard.

Members of a ship crew have a vocabulary of emergency phrases to signal scenarios like a person overboard or parts in need of emergency repair. 

The phrase "Mr. Mob" refers to a man overboard. "Code blue," which was brought over from hospital codes, is used to refer to a medical emergency. "Bravo bravo bravo" can indicate that there's a fire on the boat, without causing panic among passengers.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

'Not a game changer': what Wall Street is saying about iPhone 7 and Apple's other big launches (AAPL, FIT, GRMN, CRUS, 3008.TW, 6269.TW)

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tim cook Maddie Ziegler

Apple didn't give Wall Street analysts many surprises at its iPhone 7 and 7 Plus launch on Wednesday.

The phones' features, particularly the removal of the traditional earphone jack in place of wireless AirPods, had been leaked and widely covered before the unveiling.

Apple also launched the Apple Watch Series 2, which includes built-in GPS and faster processors. 

Still, several analysts who cover the company had various reasons for why there could be strong demand for upgrades, and users won't wait for the iPhone 8 next year that's expected to get a design overhaul.

Here's some of the commentary:

SEE ALSO: Millennials are fleeing these 10 American cities because of high home prices

"We continue to expect a solid product cycle from the iPhone 7, based on strong upgrades driven by growth in the installed base and pent­-up demand after the weaker iPhone 6s cycle": Simona Jankowski, Goldman

"We maintain our Buy rating and 12-­month $124 price target ... the primary risks are product cycle execution, end demand, and a slower pace of innovation," Jankowski said. 



"In general, there were few surprises as the highly anticipated event is well-previewed by various media outlets": Tavis McCourt and Mike Koban, Raymond James

Given low expectations from investors, the analysts believe that wireless audio and the improved camera will convince many people that the upgrade rate should be better compared to the iPhone 6S. 



"Higher pricing for iPhone 7 Plus and launch of AirPods a slight positive": Jim Suva, Citi

Investors will view Apple's AirPods, priced at $159, as a positive "given the higher anticipated gross margins on the iPhone 7 Plus and wireless accessories ..."

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 15 best restaurants in London in 2016

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Dinner by Heston

In August, the Waitrose Good Food Guide 2017 published its ranking of the UK's best restaurants.

While the top three eateries in the country are in Cumbria, Cornwall, and Nottinghamshire, London is still the foodie capital of the country. Fifteen restaurants in the capital make it onto the list.

The best restaurant in the UK, according to the Good Food Guide is L’Enclume, located in the Lake District in Cumbria, but four London venues make it into the top 10. Many of them also have the most expensive tasting menus in the city.

From regular award-winner Le Gavroche in Mayfair, to up-and-coming Clapham eatery The Dairy, here are the top 15, with their overall rankings in brackets.

15th in London: The Dairy (50th in the UK overall) — The Dairy, in Clapham, is one of only two restaurants in the ranking located in South London, and it has one Michelin star. It serves everything from a tasting menu in the evening, to this avocado and poached egg on toast for brunch.



14. Murano (48th) — Chef Angela Hartnett's one Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Murano, in Mayfair, has been serving hearty dishes like this wood pigeon with cocoa beans and pancetta since 2008.



13. Sketch (36th) — Two Michelin-starred restaurant Sketch in Mayfair is famous for its high-quality dishes, but stands out for its presentation. Dishes like this lavender ice cream are all served on quirky plates.

Instagram Embed:
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The 10 cheapest places to buy a home in the US

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Augusta Georgia

Buying a four-bedroom home and living in a major city are often considered mutually exclusive. But they don't have to be.

Coldwell Banker recently released its annual Home Listing Report, which tracks the most affordable real estate markets in the US. Each of the top 10 are either in major cities or within commuting distance of a major metropolis, including Detroit and Cleveland at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. 

To determine the most affordable cities, Coldwell Banker analyzed the average listing price of more than 50,000 four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes for the period between January 2016 and June 2016. The ranking covered 2,168 markets across the US, excluding any with fewer than 10 listings.

In Detroit, a four-bed, two-bathroom house only costs around $64,110. And despite the city's notorious decline — which led to it ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 2013 — it's on an upswing. Detroit's small business scene is booming, creating jobs and revitalizing the town.

Keep reading for the cheapest places to purchase a home in the US. 

SEE ALSO: The 25 US cities with the lowest cost of living

DON'T MISS: The best suburb in every state

10. Palatka, Florida

Population: 10,390

Average cost of a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house: $110,655

Median household income: $21,864



9. Augusta, Georgia

Population: 197,182

Average cost of a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house: $106,567

Median household income: $37,593



8. Huntington, Indiana

Population: 17,095

Average cost of a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house: $105,614

Median household income: $39,542



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NFL WEEK 1: Our official predictions for who wins this weekend

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Aaron RodgersFootball is back!

After an offseason that saw Peyton Manning retire, Tom Brady get suspended, the Rams move to Los Angeles, Robert Griffin III move to Cleveland, and Tim Tebow join the ... Mets (?!), football is once again back in our lives.

And oh how we've missed it.

Last year, as you will fondly recall, I wrote a column each Thursday in which I picked every NFL game against the spread, and tried to offer some accompanying (and maybe even insightful) observations about football and the games. 

As many of my kind readers pointed out over the course of the season, I would have been just as well off flipping a coin for each pick, as my record of 126-113-8 (note: above .500!) was unimpressive. As always, thank you for reading and thank you for the feedback.

The thing is, last year I was nothing more than an untested rookie, and like all rookies I occasionally stumbled over the course of the season (I picked the Ravens to beat the Broncos? I suggested the Browns start Johnny Manziel?). More importantly, I also gained a ton of experience. 

And this year, my goal is simple: beat my record against the spread from last season. 

Let's do it!

(All lines courtesy of Vegas Insider.)

Carolina Panthers (-3) at Denver Broncos, (Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. ET)

In case you’re skeptical of my analysis because of my underwhelming record from last season (and I will look forward to the very supportive fan mail in the coming months) remember that that I did indeed correctly predict the Broncos to beat the Panthers in the Super Bowl.

But I won’t bet against Cam Newton twice. The Broncos lost too many key pieces on defense, by now you’ve read about future real estate broker Trevor Siemian’s inexperience in the NFL, and so forth. This has all the makings of a Revenge Game, as you will likely hear 47 times tonight during the pre-game.

The pick: Panthers -3



Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3) at Atlanta Falcons (Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET)

Well, Jameis Winston is supposedly In The Best Shape Of His Life, so that settles this one.

The pick: Bucs +3



Minnesota Vikings (-2.5) at Tennessee Titans (Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET)

Giving up a first round pick for Sam Bradford was ... not great.

The pick: Titans +2.5



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A simple chart that can help you conquer distraction

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tablet

Is the world more distracting? Sometimes it seems that way.

With our digital devices buzzing, world events demanding our attention, and more things to entertain us than ever before, it certainly seems harder to focus on what's really important.

And yet, focus is exactly what it takes to get things done and get ahead.

Distraction might appear more available than ever, but it is nothing new. Over 2,000 years ago, Socrates and Aristotle debated the nature of "akrasia," (pronounced uh-crazy-uh), our tendency to act against our better judgement.

To the ancient Greeks, mere mortals were prone to distraction due to our weakness of will. Easy for them to say — Socrates and Aristotle never had to resist binge-watching "Game of Thrones."

In this Golden Age of distraction, what does it take to focus? How do we do what we must so we can have the lives we really want? Instead of blaming our puny attention spans, we should dig deeper to understand how certain products affect us.

I'll use my own struggle as an example.

I decided to plot certain products and services on the matrix below. On one axis is the question of whether the product is harmful to my life. On the other, I asked myself whether I could stop using the product or whether I was dependent. With this two-by-two tool, I can begin to classify certain products and decide how to put them in their place. You can do this, too – and you probably should.

SEE ALSO: How to get up to speed on any subject in 3 simple steps



Goods

The top left quadrant is an easy one. Things that aren't harmful and I can easily stop using are what I call "Goods." The vast majority of the products and services I use fit into this category. Goods are not problematic. In fact, I wish I used some of these things, like my gym membership, meditation app, or water bottle, more frequently.



Necessities

In the upper right are "Necessities." These things are not harmful but I can't stop using them without serious consequences. For example, food, clothing, and shelter all fall into this bucket. As much as I wish I didn't have to shove nutrients into my face hole to stay alive and that societal norms allowed public nudity, unfortunately, that isn't the case. I can't stop consuming these things even if I wanted to.

One might also argue that having a connection to certain technologies like an email account or Google has also become a necessity. Disconnecting won't kill you, but neither would walking around the office in the buff. Rather, society expects certain things of us (like being web proficient and accessible through email) and we would find it difficult to live, work, and sustain personal and professional relationships without these services.

It's interesting to note that this category can become harmful, depending on the degree of use. For example, eating too much food or spending too much money on clothing can have negative consequences, but there's nothing inherently bad about these products when used in the right amounts.

To make sure we don't over-use, we set budgets, listen to our bodies' satiety, and set limits. The key is to monitor and moderate our use. When it comes to necessities, most people find self-regulating relatively easy. It's the next category of products that presents a bigger challenge.



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The 25 most expensive housing markets in the US

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San Francisco

The most expensive housing markets in America are primarily packed into one state: California. 

The Golden State dominates Coldwell Banker's annual Home Listing Report, which ranks the most expensive places to purchase homes in America, claiming every spot in the top 10 and 18 total out of the top 25. 

To determine the most expensive cities, Coldwell Banker analyzed the average listing price of more than 50,000 four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes for the period between January 2016 and June 2016. The ranking covered 2,168 markets across the US, excluding any with fewer than 10 listings.

So what makes California so desirable?

"It all goes back to the old adage in real estate about location, location, location," Charlie Young, CEO of Coldwell Banker, told Business Insider. "In California, you've got a confluence of an amazing climate, strong economy with high-paying jobs, and a tech sector attracting a competitive environment." 

Looking even deeper, six cities within the top 10 can be found inside Silicon Valley, which makes sense given the multitude of growing tech companies that are paying top dollar to attract new employees — and homebuyers — to the area.

"In Silicon Valley, you’ve got Apple, you’ve got Google, you’ve got Facebook. You’ve got the big players in the new tech economy," Young said. "For the foreseeable future, they’re there, and that’s going to drive those markets."

And at the end of the day, "you can’t discount the fact that it’s California," Young noted. It's always been an aspirational place to live — and that isn't likely to change any time soon. 

Read on to check see which cities make up the 25 most expensive housing markets in America, where the average listing price is at least $1 million. 

SEE ALSO: The 10 most affordable places to buy a home in the US

DON'T MISS: The 30 most expensive colleges to live near

25. Walnut Creek, California

Population: 68,910

Average cost of a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house: $1,004,900

Median household income: $80,399



24. San Jose, California

Population: 1,026,908

Average cost of a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house: $1,011,871

Median household income: $83,787



23. Concord, Massachusetts

Population: 19,830

Average cost of a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house: $1,040,290

Median household income: $132,385



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Before the F-35, these 10 aircraft became legends after rough starts

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f35

Critics of the F-35 have jumped on the fact that it has suffered a host of problems during the developmental test process while Air Force leadership has remained bullish on the jet’s transformational potential. This isn’t the first time this dynamic has come into play while fielding an airplane.

Here are ten planes that had rough starts, but eventually became mainstays.

SEE ALSO: China is trying to expand its military reach with the biggest plane in the world

1. F4U Corsair

The “Ensign Eliminator” was a high performer, but the complexity of the plane lead to a lot of fatal accidents. In fact, at one point, the Navy was willing to let the Marine Corps use the plane from land bases during World War II, sticking with the F6F Hellcat (not a bad bird, either).

The plane kicked butt, to put it mildly. Eventually, the Navy began to fly Corsairs off carriers near the end of World War II, when it needed high performance to take down kamikazes. The plane then proved to be a good ground-attack bird, particularly during the Korean War.



2. P-51 Mustang

The first version of the P-51, the P-51A, was saddled with the Allison engine. That gave it problems at higher altitudes. Still, some recognized that the P-51 had potential, and decided to try the Rolls Royce Merlin. We all know how that worked out.



3. P-38 Lightning

Hard to believe that a plane designed by the legendary Kelly Johnson of Lockheed “Skunk Works” fame would have problems. But the plane used by Tom Lanphier to take out Isoroku Yamamoto had trouble – lots of trouble. Early versions of the Lightning were crippled by issues with compressibility.

One such incident over a wheat field near Rostock nearly spelled the end for the legendary Robin Olds. Eventually, new dive flaps fixed the compressibility problems, and the P-38 went on to a glorious career – with Yamamoto as the most famous “kill” among many.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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