0:04
Student Loan Changes Rewrite College Planning Playbook
Pink Floyd may not need no education, but most of the rest of us probably do.
Now, changes to student loan regulations are forcing potential students and their parents to deal with lower loan limits and fewer repayment options, offering advisors a fresh way to add value by helping clients navigate the altered landscape.
“In some ways, it’s simplified things,” said Travis Poodiack, an advisor and cofounder of Birch Financial Group. But especially for those considering education beyond a four-year degree, limited federal funding means future doctors, lawyers and dentists will need to look elsewhere to pay for school. “They have to make up that gap one way or another, so whether that’s savings, 529s, gifts from parents, investments, retirement accounts, or they’re having to go look at private student loans.”
Rethinking the Math
Advisors suggest a few shifts in strategy. First, parents should frontload 529 contributions so the money has more time to grow, as well as allocate more savings toward graduate school since higher education degrees generally cost more and come with fewer scholarships. Another avenue would be to ask grandparents to put planned inheritances toward education costs now, rather than waiting until they pass away.
Under the changes, which went into effect on July 1:
- Borrowers in professional programs will only be able to borrow $50,000 per year, or $200,000 total for their program. Borrowers for other types of graduate school will only be allowed to take out $20,500 a year, or $100,000 total. All borrowers have a lifetime limit of $257,500 (excluding those taking parent PLUS loans).
- Parents are only allowed to borrow $20,000 per student per year, with a $65,000 lifetime limit per child.
- New borrowers only have access to two repayment plans, one that is income-driven and one that offers fixed payments over 10 to 25 years based on loan balance.
Time for the Talk. Cindy Wilson, an advisor at HB Wealth, has begun encouraging clients with kids in high school to start conversations about college expenses sooner rather than later. Maybe this means that parents will only pay for in-state schools, or encourage their children to do the first few years of school at community college. “In the past, the advice had been: ‘You can borrow money for college, you can’t borrow money for retirement,’” she said. “You still borrow money for college, it’s just less.”
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1:18
Will Apple’s Lawsuit Crush OpenAI’s Smartphone Dreams?
It’s one feud after another for OpenAI.
Fresh from its court battle with co-founder Elon Musk this spring, Sam Altman’s artificial intelligence company has now found itself in the legal crosshairs of another tech titan. Apple is accusing the ChatGPT developer of stealing trade secrets and hardware designs to bolster its development of an AI-fueled smartphone that would challenge the iconic iPhone.
To say the two companies have a troubled history is an understatement. In 2024, the pair teamed to integrate ChatGPT into Siri and other iPhone features, a partnership that would allow Apple to AI-ify its devices without the massive capex needed to develop its own models while helping OpenAI reach the countless users in the Apple ecosystem. In January, however, Apple announced it would begin integrating Google’s Gemini AI model into iPhones in a multibillion-dollar deal that appeared to supplant ChatGPT as Apple’s AI model of choice. Months later, in May, Bloomberg reported that Apple plans to soon let users choose non-ChatGPT models to power Siri, including models from Google and OpenAI’s archrival Anthropic.
Also in May, Bloomberg reported that OpenAI was considering legal action against Apple after the 2024 Siri deal proved less exclusive (and, crucially, less lucrative) than expected. But now Apple has beaten Sam Altman to the punch with a lawsuit touching not just on hardware but personnel:
- OpenAI revved up its smartphone ambitions last year after acquiring Io Products, a tech design startup founded by longtime Apple design chief Jony Ive that also employed several other high-profile Apple veterans. OpenAI now employs more than 400 former Apple employees, the lawsuit claims.
- Many of those former employees, Apple alleges, have brought with them trade secrets about Apple hardware designs and confidential information about key Apple suppliers. Worse, Apple alleges, OpenAI advised outgoing Apple employees on how to evade the notoriously secretive company’s security procedures. One key Apple employee poached by OpenAI exploited a “vulnerability” in its digital storage system to steal confidential files after leaving, the lawsuit claims.
Slow Your Scroll: In sum, Apple is accusing the company of systematic intellectual property theft, a claim that could upend OpenAI’s plans for a smartphone killer if Apple proves trade secrets were used in its design. Nonetheless, one source told Bloomberg on Monday that OpenAI still thinks it’s on track to announce its first device this year and launch it sometime next year, a crucial step as it considers delaying its IPO until 2027.
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2:38
CEO Says Volkswagen May Double Layoffs to 100,000 Amid Sagging Profit
VfL Wolfsburg, the German soccer team that operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of carmaker Volkswagen, was relegated from the Bundesliga in May for the first time since being promoted to the country’s top-flight competition in 1997. It’s hard not to see the squad’s floundering performance as a tribute to its corporate parent.
On Monday, CEO Oliver Blume told staff that struggling VW could double existing plans to axe 50,000 jobs. The resulting 100,000 cuts would make for one of the most extraordinary downsizings in corporate history, underscoring the dire nature of the once-mighty carmaker’s quandary.
First, there’s China, VW’s biggest market. The company has been undercut there by the emergence of government-backed, domestic brands like BYD, which produce cheap, high-tech electric vehicles. In the second quarter, VW sold 2.1 million vehicles globally, an 8.6% year-over-year decline fueled by a 36% drop in Chinese sales.
Then there’s the problem of building at home. Germany’s auto sector was once an industrial powerhouse, but now it’s a really expensive endeavor, thanks to high wages and higher energy bills. Blume, in his memo, estimated VW has a roughly 20% cost disadvantage relative to peers. The company is also much less efficient: With a payroll of 680,000 workers, VW built about 9 million vehicles last year. Toyota, whose workforce of 390,000 is about 57% of VW’s, nonetheless built 2 million more cars.
Lastly, there’s the 25% US tariff on auto imports, which Blume estimates may slice $5.9 billion a year from VW’s operating profit. In fact, VW’s net profit fell 44% to $8 billion last year. With shares down more than 30% this year, something has to be done:
- Last year, VW pledged “massive” investments in the US, where its production sites include a sprawling Tennessee plant, in an effort to get around tariffs. VW has increased investments in robotics and automation.
- Blume said he can’t guarantee the continued operation of four German plants but would prefer finding an “intelligent solution” (like partnering with the defense industry) to closing them.
Cataloging Failures: A 100,000-worker layoff would not only be an automotive industry record but also top some of the largest corporate cutbacks in history. Citigroup axed nearly 75,000 roles during the 2008 financial crisis. General Motors parted with 47,000 staff in 2009, the year it declared bankruptcy, and department store chain Sears laid off 50,000 in 1993 when it closed more than 100 stores and discontinued its famous catalog.
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3:57
Diamond Giant De Beers to Shutter Largest Mine Under Mounting Pressure
De Beers is shutting down South Africa’s biggest diamond mine for two years as it takes a sledgehammer to costs. The Venetia mine churns out 40% of South Africa’s diamonds and 10% of those used by De Beers.
The diamond giant hasn’t cut its output expectations, instead planning to save on its stones by moving mining elsewhere. De Beers said Monday it has managed to lop off $100 million of annual overhead costs since 2024.
The $80 billion diamond industry has been going through rough times, and De Beers parent Anglo American slashed the value of its diamond business in half this February. It was Anglo American’s third writedown in as many years as the mining giant actively seeks to move away from diamonds and instead double down on materials like copper.
Not All Diamonds Are Forever
De Beers is credited with popularizing diamond engagement rings in the 20th century, using savvy marketing that convinced generations of brides that “A diamond is forever.” But the business has changed significantly since then, particularly in the past decade:
- Lab-made diamonds made up less than 1% of diamond sales globally 10 years ago but now account for more than a fifth. While rivals like Signet have added more lab-grown stones to their lineups to lift sales, De Beers has stuck to mined gems. The diamond giant last year wound down Lightbox, its venture into synthetic stones.
- Lab-made diamonds are significantly cheaper than their mined counterparts, and their prices have only fallen as companies compete to churn out larger, higher-clarity stones. Putting more pressure on the industry to slash prices, the postpandemic slump in Chinese luxury spending has sapped sales while conflicts in the Middle East have disrupted the diamond trade.
Losing Sparkle: This month, Bloomberg reported that De Beers cut its prices to bring them much closer to the market rate, signaling that it’s giving up on maintaining its premium position. One way to retain the value of mined diamonds might be abandoning the carat-for-carat competition with lab-made rivals that give buyers more bling for their buck. Demand could rise for diamonds with unique traits that aren’t being replicated in the lab (yet).
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5:06
Vanguard, Envestnet Team Up to Curb Tax Risks on Model Portfolio Conversions
Envestnet and Vanguard are expanding their partnership to tackle one of the biggest obstacles to broader adoption of model portfolios: the tax bills that can come with moving longtime clients into them.
While model portfolios have become a staple of modern wealth management, allowing advisors to outsource investment management and spend more time on financial planning, many are reluctant to trigger capital gains levies by leveraging them, especially for clients with highly appreciated, legacy portfolios.
To bring more expertise to bear on the challenge, Envestnet announced last week that Vanguard will join its Fund Strategist Tax Management (FSTM) Advantage program, which helps advisors make such transitions in a tax-sensitive manner. The Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha service model is also now available through Envestnet’s platform. “We are long in the tooth on a bull market that makes the provision of tax services all the more important,” Dana D’Auria, Envestnet co-CIO, said in an emailed statement. “Advisors cannot control market returns, but they can control an important factor in after-tax return realization by managing tax consequences.”
Model portfolios, which seek to provide diversification while taking risk profiles and financial goals into account, have surged in popularity as advisors look to scale their practices:
- More than 80% of fee-based advisors use model portfolios to some degree.
- Third-party model portfolios, those designed and managed by firms like BlackRock, Vanguard and Morningstar, hold almost $1 trillion in assets.
- Across all model portfolio segments, Broadridge Financial expects asserts under management to reach $18.6 trillion by 2030.
I Got a Little Tax Problem. Taxes remain a major hurdle, particularly for older clients with concentrated positions or decades of embedded gains. Jeff Judge, a CFP with Chesapeake Financial Planners, recently worked with a client who held $2.8 million of a single stock purchased for just a few dollars a share in 1997. “The model made perfect sense from a diversification standpoint, but the tax bill didn’t,” he told Advisor Upside. “The easy move is to reset and take the tax hit all at once, but that’s rarely the right answer.” Instead, transitioning legacy clients often requires a multiyear migration strategy, gradually unwinding concentrated positions while running parallel bucket strategies, which Judge acknowledged creates significant amounts of administrative work for advisors.
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6:23
Now That TXSE Is Open, Can It Compete with NYSE, Nasdaq?
Throw your cowboy hats in the air.
With the Texas Stock Exchange opening for business last week, years of hype give way to the real test: Can it become a genuine competitor to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, which together dominate US listings and have already established their own Texas operations? “The Texas Stock Exchange is not even the first mover in its own backyard,” said Clayton Allison, a portfolio manager at Prime Capital Management.
For TXSE to carve out a meaningful niche, it will need to win exclusive listings rather than simply host securities already trading elsewhere. “The question is what companies will they be able to attract?” Allison told Advisor Upside. “Will it be small caps that find the environment more friendly? Because there’s almost no chance they’ll convince the mega-caps to switch their primary listings.” It’s important to note that hundreds of billions of shares are traded on the NYSE and Nasdaq each year, so TXSE has some pretty big cowboy boots to fill.
TXSE isn’t starting from scratch. The exchange is backed by major financial firms including BlackRock, Citadel, Charles Schwab and JPMorgan. It’s also hoping to capitalize on Texas’ growing appeal as a corporate hub, with companies such as Chevron, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX all expanding or relocating operations to the state.
The exchange is marketing itself as a lower-cost, less burdensome alternative to the NYSE and Nasdaq, promising potentially cheaper listing fees and a more issuer-friendly philosophy. For example, companies listing on the exchange don’t have to meet board diversity requirements. But Allison questioned whether those advantages are enough. “Listing costs are already so compressed, I don’t know if that’s going to be a driving factor,” he said. Instead, he suggested, listing on TXSE could become more of a branding decision for companies and fund issuers that want to align themselves with the exchange’s governance philosophy and Texas’ pro-business reputation.
Cowboys’ Playbook. One way in which TXSE could differentiate itself is by becoming a home for more niche investment products. James Seyffart, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said the exchange may attract funds that struggle to gain approval on larger exchanges, pointing to products like the Tuttle Capital Government Grift ETF (GRFT), which invests in companies with perceived ties to political insiders.
“Cboe got its start by currying favor with ETF issuers, so I can see Texas following a similar playbook,” Seyffart told Advisor Upside. “It takes a long time for exchanges to build up liquidity. I don’t expect us to have an answer on how successful TXSE is anytime soon.”
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7:46
I tried moving back to Boston. It made me realize I wanted to build my life in China.
- Nick Lappen found his passion for bartending after a transformative stint in China in his 20s.
- After returning to Boston during the pandemic, he opened a small bar to test the concept he hoped to bring to China.
- By 2023, he was back in China and went on to open a bar in Chengdu, specializing in tiki cocktails.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nick Lappen, an American bartender and entrepreneur based in China. His words have been edited for length and clarity.
I first visited China when I was 22 on a road trip from London to Mongolia, and the experience left a lasting impression.
A few years later, in 2015, I signed what I expected would just be a six-month contract as an education consultant in a mountainous province in southwest China.
Instead, it changed the course of my career.
After briefly returning to the US, I realized I missed the lifestyle of China and moved back. I no longer wanted to teach full time, so I started to split my time between teaching and bartending. I also opened a seasonal rooftop bar with my then-girlfriend, which led to consulting work and helped establish me in the country's growing hospitality scene.
I later moved to Shanghai to pursue bartending full time. But the pandemic forced me back to Boston, where I sharpened my skills behind some of the city's best bars and opened a small one specializing in baijiu, China's traditional distilled spirit, as a side project. It became a testing ground for the kind of bar I hoped to build in China one day.
Living in the US again confirmed that China was where I wanted to be. I missed the convenience and the general kindness of the people there.
I also missed spending weekends at off-the-beaten-path reservoirs in the countryside, where locals from nearby villages shared the same love of the water. We'd jump off cliffs into the pools, catch fish, paddleboard, swim, and enjoy local delicacies together.
Life in southwest China is low-stress, and I felt the pace and opportunities there were a better match for the future I wanted.
By 2023, I was back in China as head of bar at what is now Upper House in Chengdu. But after nearly two years, I felt ready to build something on my own.
The concept for Sugarcane Society, a rum bar, began by accident. Originally, my partners — a fellow American and a local Chinese friend I met in Chengdu — and I rented the space as an R&D site for our brand of liqueurs, bitters, and sprays. But we had extra space and decided to transform it into a bar.
The total cost to get Sugarcane Society up and running was 60,000 Chinese yuan, or under $10,000, including everything from the rent deposit and business registration to equipment and renovations.
The bar has been open since October 2025 and specializes in classic tiki cocktails. It's been doing well, but we're limited by space and can accommodate only 20 guests at a time.
One of the biggest challenges we face in Chengdu is visibility. The bar is not in a high-foot-traffic area. Most of our patrons are rum enthusiasts or fellow bartenders who seek us out based on our reputation for quality. Social media has been crucial for our marketing efforts, but building a following takes time and strategy.
Over the years, I've been presented with numerous opportunities to leave China, whether for jobs in the Middle East or back home in the US. Each time, though, I've realized I'd be moving somewhere I didn't want to live. The everyday experiences in China — the warmth of the people, the slower pace of life, and the constant learning — have only strengthened my desire to stay.
The notion that everything made in China is subpar is a misconception I want to dismantle.
The quality of the spirits, wines, and craft beers produced here rivals anything you'd find in the West. For example, XiaoPu, a "nomadic" winery that sources high-quality grapes from Ningxia, Gansu, Sichuan, and other wine-growing regions across China, makes some of the most interesting natural wines on the market.
Breweries like TripSmith in Guiyang and Wild West Brewing in Chengdu are also pushing the country's craft beer scene forward.
I've come to appreciate local products, from clothing and tech to fresh produce. I use Xiaomi products like air purifiers, WiFi routers, fitness trackers, and even my cellphone in everyday life, and Chinese clothing brands like Anta, Li-Ning, and Feiyue are affordable and high quality. My vision for the future includes showcasing these kinds of products in my bars, further bridging the gap between East and West.
If the version of me who first landed in China could see my life now, I think he would be astonished at how much I've changed. Maybe that growth would have happened elsewhere, too, but it happened here.
Read the original article on Business Insider
10:06
Norway's Erling Haaland brought a $750 taxidermy raccoon home from the World Cup
- Norway striker Erling Haaland took home a tipsy raccoon as a keepsake of his time in the US.
- He left the plane at Oslo with the taxidermied raccoon in one hand and a Dolce & Gabbana bag in the other.
- Haaland's fashion sense and meme-worthy presence have made him one of the World Cup's most viral players.
The FIFA World Cup's most viral football player left the US with a rather peculiar souvenir.
Norway's striker Erling Haaland returned home after his team lost to England in the quarter-finals on Sunday. He exited the plane at Oslo's Gardermoen Airport on Monday in style, carrying a $750 taxidermy raccoon in one hand and a Dolce & Gabbana tote bag in the other.
"It followed me home," he joked of the raccoon in the caption of his Monday X post.
It followed me home 🦝🤣 pic.twitter.com/IwMhgv0CAb
— Erling Haaland (@Erling) July 13, 2026
The raccoon was from Wild Bill's Western Store in Dallas, a family-owned business that Haaland visited at the start of July, according to an Instagram post by the store. The store's website says it's been in operation for more than 40 years.
The business has jumped on the Haaland hype train, posting a picture of him on its website's homepage wearing a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and a shirt that reads: "Y'all can kiss my Dallas."
"As a family-owned business, moments like these mean the world to us," the store wrote in an Instagram post on July 5. "Thank you for stopping by and spending time with our team."
The raccoon, mounted on a wooden board and holding a whiskey bottle, is sold out on Wild Bill's storefront, with the notice "inventory on the way."
The shop has also started international shipping since Haaland's visit, after it was flooded with comments from Norwegians and other foreigners interested in its products.
Haaland, known for his blond man bun, funny facial expressions, and goal-scoring prowess, is perhaps the most viral player in this year's World Cup. The 25-year-old Manchester City player has taken over the internet with memes and songs, including "Haaland (Ha Ha Ha)," a Manchester City fan chant.
Off the pitch, he has made waves for his fashion sense. He has frequently been photographed carrying rare Hermès bags, Chanel cashmere beanies, and other luxury items.
Read the original article on Business Insider
11:15
Olive Garden is bringing back its infinite pasta glitch
Olive Garden may need to adopt a belt-loosening policy thanks to the return of its extremely beloved Never-Ending Pasta Pass, a subscription plan that grants a limited number of patrons 13 weeks of unlimited pasta for $100.
The return of the Pasta Pass represents the latest in a trend that Olive Garden helped create of restaurant chains trying to win repeat business via limited-time subscription programs. These programs can drive both customer loyalty and headlines (like ours). Taco Bell, Applebee’s, and Subway also have popular ones. And Olive Garden is looking for a boost after its same-store sales growth disappointed in Q4.
If you’re the proud owner of an “I ♥️carbs” t-shirt…you can take advantage of a deal that also includes infinite soup, salad, and breadsticks (but not wine) by going to the Pasta Pass website on Thursday at 2pm ET to get one of the 10,000 available passes. The $100 pass (plus tax) is good for 13 weeks starting Aug. 24, and you only need to order four plates of Chicken Alfredo before breaking even.
But be warned: The company claims Olive Garden sold out of 24,000 passes in “milliseconds” the last time it ran the promotion in 2019.—DL
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11:53
Another Disney remake falls in the forest
$95 million worldwide, that’s where the new live‑action Moana landed. With a $350 million budget, the gap is stark, and domestically it pulled in $43 million—well short of Disney’s $60 million target.
The film leaned heavily on CGI, essentially re‑creating the animated classic frame‑for‑frame, which left audiences feeling it was a glossy replica rather than a fresh take. Timing didn’t help either; it opened alongside Minions, Monsters, and Disney’s own Toy Story 5, crowding the weekend.
Disney’s remake cadence is also shifting. Historically it waits about 27 years before revisiting an animated hit, but this Moana arrived just a decade after the original, compressing the cycle.
The broader pattern suggests Disney may be stretching its catalog thin, having turned most of its beloved animated titles into live‑action versions since 2010. The last original live‑action franchise that really clicked was Pirates of the Caribbean.
