Watch out for an apartment crunch

This is a condensed version of Business Insider Today, a newsletter that gives you a look at the week’s top stories. Sign up here to get the full Business Insider Today in your inbox every day for the top stories in markets, tech, and business.

Welcome back to our Sunday edition, where we round up some of our top stories and take you inside our newsroom. Bill Gates thinks people will be “so much better off” in the future — but that young people need to activate on certain challenges. Gates highlighted four risks, including unchecked AI, that are “very scary things” for younger generations.

Trump-supporting federal workers speak out

As President Trump looks to slim down the federal workforce, many federal employees have expressed outrage over his job-cutting blitz. But what about the ones who voted for him?

Four federal workers who voted for Trump spoke with BI about their feelings. They said they supported Trump cutting governmental waste, but some had concerns over the administration’s targeting of federal workers. One worker said it hadn’t changed their support of the president.

"It shouldn't have come to this."

Also read:

• They had glowing reviews before getting fired from their government jobs. Now they're planning to fight back.

The bankers fueling M&A’s revival

US companies had more than $1.43 trillion in deals last year, the highest since 2021. It’s a good sign for Wall Street, signaling a rebound after the M&A freeze that started in 2022.?

BI, with the help of MergerLinks, is back with its sixth annual edition of “The Rainmakers.” Our list ranks the highest-performing investment bankers by overall transaction volume in the US. This time around, JPMorgan’s Anu Aiyengar became the first woman to secure the top spot.

Meet the 20 Rainmakers.

Snag the apartment deals while you can

The rental market has been booming over the past two years. With so many high rises hitting the market, landlords are desperate to fill up the space — and renters have been reaping the rewards.

Enjoy it while you can. The new apartment supply is expected to dwindle as building costs increase and developers cut back on construction plans. It’s laying the groundwork for another apartment squeeze that could cause rent to hike up.

Brace yourself.

The startups to bet your career on

In recent years, cost-cutting and layoffs have dulled some of Silicon Valley’s shine. But now AI is fueling a new wave of tech dealmaking. BI put together a list of startups with impressive founding teams and investor dollars that are worth betting your career on.?

The lineup covers a lot of ground, ranging from tools that sift through clinical notes to resources that make it easier to develop AI models.?

The 43 startups you should want to work for.

More of this week’s top reads:

• SBA won't try to claw back $155 million in controversial COVID grants to celebrities.?
• Trump and Musk froze USAID funding to put Americans first. US citizens are feeling the impact.
• I'm a 44-year-old small-business owner. I've never made $100,000 in a year, and I'm still on track to retire by 50.?
• Retail investors tell us how they're navigating the market in 2025.?
• The last time America was this bullish on stocks was right before a huge sell-off.
• Marko Elez, who left DOGE amid social media controversy, worked for xAI.?
• TikTok is ramping up RTO, and some are balking at the new requirements.
• I spent 10 hours at a real-estate conference with hundreds of investors — and the major takeaway had nothing to do with market trends.
• Forget the Trump trade. The Musk trade is where it's at.
• A hedge funder shares his precise strategy for finding high-upside meme coins, and lays out his bets for 2025.
• I helped my mom set up her phone. It could have gone better.

Curated by Jamie Heller and edited by Lisa Ryan, Grace Lett, Amanda Yen, and Elizabeth Casolo.

This is a shorter version of our flagship newsletter, which brings you in-depth analysis and summaries of the top stories from Wall Street to Silicon Valley.

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