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Welcome back to our Sunday edition, where we round up some of our top stories and take you inside our newsroom. Interested in a career pivot? A teacher with no tech experience shared the four résumé tweaks that helped him land a gig at Google.
On the agenda today:
- Steve Bannon tells BI why Elon Musk is “evil” — and his plans for a third Trump term.
- Real estate agents and Zillow are going to war over listings.
- Million-dollar payouts and no job security: what it’s like to work at a hedge fund.
- A BI editor accidentally cheated on his taxes. Here’s what happened.
But first: Back to the factory?
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This week’s dispatch
The push for 'manly' jobs
President Trump is pushing for a return to factory jobs. By and large, Americans don't want them.
BI's Emily Stewart is one of the most authoritative and original thinkers on how Trump's economic policies are affecting people and businesses in this country.
After her piece this week about whether men, in particular, really want the traditionally "masculine" manufacturing jobs the president is promoting, I sought her thoughts on her beat and the economy broadly.
The economic upheaval under President Trump is overwhelming. And yet, you consistently find ways to identify a particular vein and explore it with fresh takeaways. How do you get and sculpt your ideas?
I'm lucky that people often come to me with ideas or nuggets — my editors, sources, even friends. Chances are, if someone saw something and thought, "Huh, that's weird/interesting/annoying/scary," they're not alone.
I do think it's helpful to ground larger concepts in something that's more real and tangible. The economy isn't some nebulous theoretical concept, it's what we live day-to-day. I obviously read the normal business outlets, but I also listen to the friend who's complaining that the bridesmaid dress she's about to buy got more expensive because of the tariffs.
Besides Trump, what other economic trends are fascinating you right now?
There's a palpable anger across America at the ultrawealthy and corporations that's manifesting in really interesting ways. I've written about it in my coverage of middle-class shoplifting, but you also see it in the Tesla protests and even small-time stuff like consumers abusing return policies. People feel like they're being taken advantage of, and — right or wrong — they're finding little ways to lash out and reassert some agency.
What would you say makes you both most concerned and most hopeful about the US economy?
I know it's cliché, but there's so much uncertainty now that it makes it hard to imagine what stability would even look like. If we do enter a recession, there might not be any appetite on Capitol Hill to shore up the economy, given what happened with post-COVID inflation.
What makes me hopeful is that we've been "about to be in a recession" for what feels like forever. The economy is resilient, and consumers have kept spending even though they say everything is terrible. Things feel bad, but maybe it will be fine? It sounds silly to say, but that's the hope.
Steve Bannon, unchained
Fresh out of prison for contempt of Congress, Bannon remains an influential force in Trump's Washington. His podcast is a hot spot on the DC media circuit, attracting conspiracy theorists and leading senators alike for guest appearances.
Bannon's dedication to Trump hasn't wavered — even though he thinks Elon Musk "has always been evil." BI visited Bannon's sprawling villa in Arizona, where he reflected on his time in prison and shared his vision for Trump 2028.
Two days with the MAGA mastermind.
Zillow's fight for listings
Zillow and brokerages haven't been getting along lately. Some real estate agents are gatekeeping listings, and the search site is fighting back.
While Zillow is garnering some support for its new rule banning these "secret" listings, one of its rivals thinks it's all just a "power play." Either way, it's clear that the industry is on the precipice of a homebuying war.
Homebuyers will still pay the price.
Also read:
Payouts and pink slips
It's easy to understand the allure of working at a hedge fund — payouts can reach tens of millions of dollars, and right now there's plenty of opportunity for savvy traders to stand out.
The downside? There's virtually no job security. Firms can be quick to cut and replace underperformers. "These aren't places to build a career usually," one former portfolio manager said. "It's a place to survive and get paid while you can." This piece is the second in our series on the Path to Wall Street.
What it's like to work at a hedge fund.
A tax nightmare
One tax season, BI's Zak Jason received a letter from the IRS. He soon realized he messed up his taxes: He forgot to attach his W-2 and declare his salary on his tax return.
Jason wasn't alone. Several million Americans fail to properly file their taxes each year. He also learned the system doesn't have to be this way.
Playing a game of chicken with the IRS.
This week's quote:
"Generally at Yale, not every student there is trying to become a startup founder or entrepreneur, so we saw that fire in each other and connected over that."
— Sneha Sivakumar on meeting her cofounder, Anushka Nijhawan, in their freshman year. Their startup Spur just raised $4.5 million.
More of this week's top reads:
- AmeriCorps and Peace Corps workers were building careers — then the DOGE cuts came.
- This is Mark Zuckerberg's theory of why Facebook is losing cultural relevancy.
- Wall Street dealmakers thought Trump was the answer. Now, they're not so sure.
- Sam Altman's play for a social network could get him data — and under Elon Musk's skin.
- It's easier than ever for businesses to jack up prices.
- Vibe coding is changing the way investors think about founders.
- Tesla showroom design makes them perfect targets for anti-Elon Musk protests.
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Netflix is charging ahead as one of the stock market's favorite recession plays.
The BI Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.