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Bitcoin

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• Bitcoin futures premium has doubled this month as the SEC rules on the potential of approval of several ETFs.
• SEC Chairman has recently voiced his support for bitcoin ETFs that hold futures contracts rather than directly holding bitcoin.
• The SEC is set to either approve, deny, or delay bitcoin ETF proposals from four firms over the next two weeks.
• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.

The premium tied to bitcoin futures contracts has doubled this month as investors anticipate the SEC's potential approval of several bitcoin ETFs over the next two weeks.

The SEC is set to either approve, deny, or delay bitcoin ETF proposals from ProShares, Valkyrie Investments, Invesco, and VanEck, which were all submitted to the regulatory agency in August.

While still wary of a pure bitcoin ETF due to concerns for potential fraud, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has voiced his support in recent weeks for a bitcoin ETF that buys underlying futures contracts on the cryptocurrency rather than directly buying bitcoin itself.

Since Gensler has made clear his thoughts on the possibility of bitcoin futures-based ETF, several issuers have submitted new ETF applications that would utilize that same approach, including Cathie Wood's ARK Invest.

With approval of a bitcoin futures ETF looking more likely than ever, the annualized premium of CME bitcoin futures prices over bitcoin's spot value was 15%, compared to an average of 7.7% over the first nine months of the year, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Given that there could very soon be a surge in demand for bitcoin futures contracts due to the onslaught of new ETFs, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is planning to raise the limit on the number of bitcoin futures contacts a single firm can hold.

The SEC also seems to be ramping up education about bitcoin futures contracts ahead of their decision on the ETFs later this month. On Thursday, the SEC Investor Education Twitter account shared a link to more information on bitcoin futures and said, "Before investing in a fund that holds Bitcoin futures contracts, make sure you carefully weigh the potential risks and benefits."

Whichever firm receives approval for the first bitcoin futures-based ETF could see a significant first-mover advantage as investors seek exposure to bitcoin in their traditional brokerage and retirement accounts. Bitcoin is up more than 30% so-far in October, and is up just over 100% year-to-date.

Markets Insider

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The MSC Magnifica in Auckland in 2019.

MSC Cruises

• MSC Cruises has canceled its 2022 world cruise and will instead sail two global cruises in 2023.
• The cruise line attributed the cancellation to the "current unavailability of ports."
• MSC says it's an issue regarding pandemic-related restrictions at ports.

MSC Cruises has canceled its 2022 world cruise due to the "current unavailability of ports" and will instead sail two global cruises in 2023, the company said in a press release on Wednesday.

"It would not have been possible to carry [the 2022 world cruise] out due to there being too many ports still facing restrictions as a result of the pandemic," the company said. MSC did not immediately respond to Insider's request to elaborate on said "restrictions," but ports around the world are currently facing congestion issues amid persistent and crippling supply chain delays.

To address the ongoing demand for world cruises, MSC- which is owned by logistics and shipping group MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company - has moved its 2022 global cruise to the following year aboard the MSC Magnifica. This sailing will then accompany MSC's sold-out 2023 world cruise aboard the MSC Poesia, which first went on sale in 2020.

The two global cruises on the Magnifica and Poesia will sail with different itineraries, the former with the same plans as the initial 2022 world cruise. The ships will begin embarkation from January 4 through 7 in four European cities. And from there, the cruises will sail on different paths.

Passengers who were initially set to sail on the 2022 world cruise will receive priority booking for the new 2023 world cruise aboard the Magnifica. Guests who move their now-canceled cruise to 2023 can also book a free sailing between January 1 and May 3, 2022.

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• A record 4.3 million Americans have quit their jobs in August.
• According to a new analysis from BestColleges, Georgia may be a good state if you're looking to make a career change.
• Here's the top states to change careers according to BestColleges and some highlights from the metrics used to create the ranking.

15. New Jersey

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New Jersey had the third largest median income and also ranked third for well-being using Sharecare's Community Well-Being Index. However, the Garden State had one of the wider gender pay gaps using earnings data, having the third largest earnings gap among the states.

14. Washington

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Washington's relatively large median income contributed to it being one of the better states to change careers, according to BestColleges' analysis. The state ranked seventh for median income and also had a high well-being index using Sharecare's Community Well-Being Index. The state's lowest rank among the seven metrics was its gender pay gap, having the fourth largest earnings gap. 

13. Kansas

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Kansas' lower cost of living compared to other states contributed to it being one of the top 15 states to change careers, with the second lowest cost of living among the states. It also had a relatively low unemployment rate, ranking 12th. However, the state had the second lowest year-over-year job growth.

12. Texas

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Both Texas' cost of living and its year-over-year job growth ranked 14th, its best ranks among the seven metrics used to find the best states to change careers. The Lone Star state's lowest ranks were its unemployment rate and well-being index, placing at 35 for both of these two categories. 

11. Virginia

Sky Noir Photography by Bill Dickinson/Getty Images

Virginia had one of the larger median incomes among the states, ranking 10th. The state had a relatively higher well-being rank and vaccination rate among the states. However, Virginia doesn't have as much year-over-year job growth compared to other states, ranking at 39.

10. Maryland

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Maryland had the largest median income among the states based on the 2019 Census data used to come up with the ranking. The state also had one of the better well-being scores and a higher COVID-19 vaccination rate as of September. The state is a relatively more expensive place to live though, placing 44th in the cost of living metric.

9. Rhode Island

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Rhode Island is one state seeing large year-over-year job growth, ranking fourth in this metric among the states. The state also ranked fourth for its COVID-19 vaccination rate as of September. However, the Ocean State does have a relatively high cost of living, placing toward the bottom for this metric at 42.

8. Nebraska

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Nebraska had the lowest unemployment rate in August. The state's second best score among the seven metrics was for its cost of living, ranking at 17. Its lowest ranking among the seven metrics however was for its year-over-year job growth, where it placed toward the bottom of the rank at 44. 

7. Hawaii

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Hawaii had the largest year-over-year job growth according to BestColleges.com's analysis of job data. The state also ranked high for its well-being, placing second in Sharecare's Community Well-Being Index of 2020 used to develop the ranking. However, it can be expensive to live in the state as the state had the highest cost of living.

6. Massachusetts

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Among the seven metrics used to calculate the ranking, Massachusetts had the best well-being index from Sharecare's Community Well-Being Index of 2020 used in the ranking. The state also had the second largest median income. However, it can be expensive to live in the state compared to others, placing 47th for its cost of living.

5. Minnesota

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Minnesota's best metric among the seven used to calculate the overall score was for its unemployment rate, which ranked 12th. The state's median income is also relatively larger than others, ranking 13th. On the other hand, the state had a higher cost of living than many other states, placing 30th for this metric.

4. Vermont

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Vermont had the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate among the states according to September data used by BestColleges to come up with its ranking. The state also ranked second for its narrow gender pay gap and high job growth. However, it placed toward the bottom for its cost of living, placing at 41.

3. Utah

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Utah had the second lowest unemployment rate, according to August rates. The state also ranked 10th for both well-being, based on Sharecare's Community Well-Being Index of 2020, and for job growth. Utah's gender pay gap using 2019 earnings data is the largest among the states per the ranking, however.

2. New Hampshire

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New Hampshire had the fifth lowest unemployment rate in August. The state also had a larger median income than other states, placing at eighth. However, the cost of living is relatively high, ranking at 37 for this metric.

1. Georgia

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Georgia had the sixth lowest cost of living and the ninth lowest unemployment rate, according to BestColleges.com analysis. However, the state also had one of the lower COVID-19 vaccination rates, placing at 42 among the states for this metric based on September data.

Here's how and why BestColleges' came up with its latest ranking

The Great Resignation seems to not be ending soon as over 4 million workers quit their jobs in August, a record high. People are leaving for opportunities that pay more or in search of jobs offering better work-life balance.

Sometimes a career change isn't just a new job, but may also mean moving to a new state for a new opportunity. For those who don't mind if they have to move for their career switch, the new analysis from BestColleges may be a good list to review. 

BestColleges puts together different kinds of college rankings and provides different resources for college students. It also has published different guides and lists about changing careers, such as jobs for teachers considering a change or how to know it's time to make a career switch. 

As Americans continue to re-evaluate what they want from work and if it's time to say goodbye to their current positions, BestColleges decided to figure out what could be the best states for career changes. 

"The team at BestColleges.com wanted to assist individuals who might not know where to begin when considering a career shift coupled with a relocation," Jessica Bryant, education analyst for BestColleges, told Insider in an email. 

To do this, BestColleges used seven metrics from different datasets that may be important to consider when relocating for a career change. Each metric was ranked and given a weight to calculate an overall score for each state. Median income and cost of living were given the largest weights. A lower overall score meant a higher rank and therefore a potentially better state for those looking to change careers.

The following are the seven metrics used by BestColleges and their weights in parentheses:

• Median income using 2019 data from the Census' American Community Survey (25%)
• Cost of living using data from the Council for Community and Economic Research's Cost of Living Index (25%)
• Job growth using year-over-year July data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (15%)
• Unemployment rate as of August 2021 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (15%)
• Gender pay gap using 2019 earnings data from the Census' American Community Survey (10%)
• Well-being using Sharecare's 2020 Community Well-Being Index (5%)
• COVID-19 vaccination rate using September data from the Mayo Clinic (5%) 

"We considered an endless list of metrics to include in our ranking, but ultimately settled on the seven factors most relevant for the current economic landscape," Bryant said. "Potential career switchers should know about the financial, employment, and social circumstances of an area they're considering moving to, and how those combined factors will impact their futures." 

The above slides include information provided by BestColleges to Insider about where each state ranked for each of the seven metrics before they were weighted to calculate the overall score.

Based on the weighted scores, Georgia is the best state for career changers. The full analysis of how each state ranked for career change and more information about the data used can be found on BestColleges.

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Michael Burry.

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• Michael Burry is considering placing a wager against cryptocurrencies.
• "The Big Short" investor asked on Twitter how he could bet against the digital coins.
• Burry warned that market speculation has likely reached unprecedented levels.

Michael Burry, who made his name and fortune by betting against the housing bubble, has set his sights on a new target: cryptocurrencies.

"Ok, I haven't done this before, how do you short a cryptocurrency?" he said in a now-deleted tweet this week. "Do you have to secure a borrow? Is there a short rebate? Can the position be squeezed and called in?"

Burry, whose massive wager against subprime mortgages was immortalized in the book and the movie "The Big Short," emphasized that he was only considering taking a position against crypto.

"In such volatile situations, I tend to think it's best not to short, but I'm thinking out loud here," he tweeted.

The Scion Asset Management boss, who routinely deletes his tweets, recently locked his Twitter profile to new users. He cited the army of meme-stock and crypto zealots and bots commenting on his tweets to drum up interest.

"Crypto/Meme bots and pumpers reply to big accounts in huge numbers for the promotion," Burry tweeted. "Deleting tweets knocks it back. Going Private allows tools to discourage them."

"But it's breathtaking, this religion of real and fake people," he continued. "The speculation probably tops anything in history."

Burry has repeatedly criticized crypto this year. He's dismissed shiba inu coin as "pointless," ridiculed dogecoin's surging price, and warned bitcoin is a "speculative bubble" that's fueled by huge amounts of leverage and vulnerable to government crackdowns.

The fund manager also compared the excitement around bitcoin, meme stocks, and other popular assets to the mid-2000s housing boom and the dot-com bubble. He warned they've been "driven by speculative fervor to insane heights from which the fall will be dramatic and painful."

Besides his housing bet, Burry is known for investing in GameStop and inadvertently paving the way for the short squeeze on the stock in January, as well as the broader meme-stock frenzy this year. Notably, Burry's latest portfolio update showed he was betting against Elon Musk's Tesla and Cathie Wood's Ark Invest.

Read more: Warren Buffett expert Robert Hagstrom breaks down the 3 key elements of the investor's 'ultimate money mind' - and explains why he won't rush to make another elephant-sized acquisition

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Robinhood.

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• Some of Robinhood's pre-IPO investors were given SEC approval to sell their shares.
• Early investors, such as Ribbit Capital, pumped billions into the trading app after the GameStop trading halt.
• JPMorgan analysts warned previously of downward pressure on Robinhood stock as more shares are freed up.

Early Robinhood investors who pumped money into the retail-trading app amid the January GameStop surge can sell their shares, after the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the move.

The SEC approval became effective Wednesday, a filing shows. The investors won't be allowed to sell their shares, however, until after Oct. 26 when Robinhood reports its quarterly results, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the story and cited a company statement. The investors also said they would keep half of the shares for 28 days after the SEC approval, the statement said.

The Robinhood stock sale stems from emergency funding the company raised early this year to cover a cash shortage. Robinhood had to put up more collateral at the industry's key clearinghouse as the meme stock craze in January led Robinhood to halt trading of GameStop and AMC shares, among others

Pre-IPO investors led by Ribbit Capital pumped $3.4 billion into Robinhood as the app faced customer outrage and political criticism over the trading halt, Insider reported previously.

JPMorgan analysts, led by Kenneth Worthington, warned in a recent note of increased pressure on Robinhood stock as millions of shares are unlocked in the coming months.

But the "big unlock" will be Dec. 1, when 500 million more shares are freed up, they said, rating the company at underweight with a $35 target price.

Because Robinhood gave access to retail investors in its initial public offering, JPMorgan predicted that after more shares are on the market, the retail side will have less influence on the stock. That means it will trade more on fundamentals than mere sentiment.

As of Thursday, the stock traded as $40.89, up 7.5% since going public in July. Ribbit Capital did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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Moderna stock has soared over the last year on the back of its coronavirus vaccine.

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• On Thursday the FDA's expert panel voted in favor of booster shots of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.
• Moderna is seeking an OK for all older adults (65+) and younger adults at high risk of severe COVID-19.
• The FDA now has to decide whether or not to OK Moderna's booster shot.

Moderna just got a step closer to rolling out a COVID-19 booster shot to the general public.

A panel of independent experts convened by the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously Thursday in favor of a Moderna booster shot for certain people who got their shot at least six months ago. The group supported offering an extra dose to adults 65 years and older, as well as younger adults who are at high risk of severe COVID-19.

The recommendation, backed by a 19-0 vote by the committee, clears the way for the FDA to authorize a booster of Moderna's vaccine for more people. The FDA typically follows the recommendations of its advisory panel, but it is not required to do so.

For many people in the US, the booster-shot campaign has already begun. In August, the agency OK'd a third dose of Moderna's shot for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised. The FDA also authorized a third dose of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine in September for all older adults and younger adults at high risk of severe disease.

So far, about 8.6 million people in the US have received a booster shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Moderna's booster shot will be a smaller dose

The Massachusetts biotech is seeking to use a booster shot that is half the strength of the first two shots. Moderna said this lower dose still provided a robust immune response, as seen by higher levels of virus-fighting proteins called antibodies, and carried a similar side-effect profile as the second dose.

Study results with Moderna's booster are limited, as the study is still ongoing and accruing data. Moderna's application includes trial data from 149 volunteers who got the lower-dose booster after being fully vaccinated. That trial failed to meet one of the two success criteria the FDA said it's looking for when reviewing booster shots, the agency's review said. The study succeeded in showing a booster raised antibody levels as high as the second dose, but the trial failed to meet the FDA's bar of showing the extra dose raised antibody levels at least fourfold from pre-booster levels.

In a sign of the urgency fueling the booster debate, panelist Dr. Patrick Moore said he voted in favor of authorization from "more gut feeling than based on really, truly serious data."

"The data itself is not strong, but it is certainly going in a direction that is supportive of this vote," said Moore, a microbiology and molecular genetics professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

The safety profile of Moderna's booster shot was generally similar to the second dose. People under 65 years old reported more frequent side effects than older volunteers.

The most common side effects after a booster shot included injection site pain, fatigue, headache and muscle pain.

A Johnson & Johnson booster shot could be next

The FDA is also reviewing Johnson & Johnson's application to give an extra dose for its single-shot vaccine. The expert panel will meet again Friday to discuss and vote on J&J's booster shot.

Boosters shots have turned into a contentious topic, particularly on when exactly they are needed. It's unclear how long protection lasts from initial vaccination, and it's also unknown how long a booster shot would protect people from COVID-19.

Scientists are also divided over if booster shots should only be used if protection against severe illness is declining. Others say there's benefit in preventing milder COVID-19 cases among the vaccinated, and it's better to proactively respond to any signs of waning protection.

While the FDA's expert panel is a critical hurdle to clear, the review process is still ongoing. The CDC will have its own advisory committee meet on October 20 and 21 to vote on recommendations for using Moderna and J&J booster shots, if the FDA OKs the shots by then. The final step in the review will be the CDC's director finalizing its agency's recommendations on how to use the booster shots.

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Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly

Southwest Airlines

• Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly issued a formal apology for the company's weekend meltdown.
• He addressed customers and employees directly, apologizing for the negative impact the breakdown had.
• Company COO Mike Van de Ven explained why the chaos happened and asked customers to give Southwest another chance.

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly issued a formal apology to customers on Thursday after its weekend meltdown that impacted thousands of passengers.

Via Twitter, Kelly apologized for Southwest's disastrous meltdown over Columbus Day weekend that separated families and ruined vacations. He addressed the company's employees, emphasizing his appreciation for their hard work during the breakdown, as well as the customers, who he said didn't deserve what happened.

-Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) October 14, 2021

Southwest chief commercial officer Mike Van de Ven also provided a statement to customers extending a sincere apology and emphasizing the importance of taking care of customers when things go wrong.

"Let me begin with our heartfelt apology to everyone whose travel was disrupted by these events: we are truly sorry," he said. "I fully realize that any attempt at an explanation falls short of our ultimate goal of delivering you to your destination on time with our typical Southwest hospitality."

He also implored customers to consider giving Southwest another chance.

"We are doing our best to proactively reach out to customers whose travel plans were impacted to offer our apologies and invite them to give us another chance to earn their business," Van de Ven said.

In the letter, Van de Ven also included an explanation of why the meltdown happened, which he said started with air traffic control issues and weather in Florida on Friday that created a ripple effect impacting its entire point-top-point network. Van de Van said that the disruptions in Florida, which is where nearly 50% of its flights start and end each day and a quarter of its crew assignments are located, displaced its crews and aircraft.

Orlando is one of Southwest's largest crew bases, and its seven-hour closure on Friday prevented aircraft, pilots, and flight attendants from moving through the system. Van de Van explained that because of this, flight crews could not get to their pre-planned positions. The airline got so out of order on Friday that the out-of-place resources cascaded through Tuesday, causing over 3,000 cancellations, according to Van de Ven.

Chicago-area bride Kimberli Romano was one of the many people impacted by Southwest's meltdown. The airline canceled her parents' flight to her wedding in Las Vegas and the family was unable to find another flight in time for the ceremony.

"It's the most important day of my life thus far and I didn't have a single family member present at my wedding," Romano told CBS Chicago.

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Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor

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• Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Supreme Court justices lack diverse legal experiences.
• "When Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed, we lost our only civil rights lawyer," Sotomayor said.
• "I do worry that the authorities who are selecting judges are not paying enough attention to that kind of diversity as well," she added.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday discussed how the nine Supreme Court justices are "greatly missing" diverse legal experiences.

"When Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed, we lost our only civil rights lawyer," Sotomayor said during a virtual event for the fifth anniversary of the New York University School of Law's Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging.

Nobody on the bench has "been in the trenches on civil rights issues, whether it's on women's rights, racial rights, or even disability rights," she continued, adding that the justices also don't have backgrounds in immigration, environmental or criminal defense law either, besides some "white-collar work."

Most justices previously held jobs as judicial clerks, law professors and deans, and legal counsel to politicians, to name a few. Some of the justices have had practice in commercial law and media law for private firms and in civil and criminal law for the government.

Sotomayor mentioned that her colleagues may not agree with her sentiment, but raised the issue as a cause for concern, considering that the court reviews "so many areas of law" and its decisions "impact in such tremendous ways."

"I do worry that the authorities who are selecting judges are not paying enough attention to that kind of diversity as well," she added. "That kind of diversity - diversity in experience - is something that I think we are sorely missing."

Sotomayor's comments come as the court kicked off its new term last week, which features a number of important cases on the docket, including challenges to abortion rights and gun laws.

President Joe Biden has acknowledged criticisms that the federal courts lack professional diversity and has so far tried to address those gaps by nominating judges of various legal backgrounds.

His first list of judicial nominees released in March featured "attorneys who have excelled in the legal field in a wide range of positions, including as renowned jurists, public defenders, prosecutors, in the private sector, in the military, and as public servants at all levels of government," the White House said.

Biden has also boosted the racial and gender diversity of the courts by appointing more people of color and women. That comes after former President Donald Trump worsened representation in the federal judiciary as he selected mostly white judges to serve. His three Supreme Court picks - Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett - are also white.

Sotomayor on Wednesday spoke about the struggles that people of color face in society and about her role as the first woman of color and the first Latina on the court.

"If you are a person of color, you have to work harder than everybody else to succeed," she said. "It's just the point of life. It's the nature of - the competitive nature of our society - where you have to prove yourself every day."

"I don't know that I feel any greater pressure than I have in doing anything in my life," Sotomayor added. "That means for me, that in every opinion I write, I know I have to give it my best."

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• The restaurant industry is in crisis as workers continue to leave for better working conditions.
• Over half of workers said in a survey that customers have become more demanding in a new survey.
• Workers say tips have gotten worse in the shift to more to-go orders.

Times are tough in the restaurant industry, and many workers are getting out for other opportunities.

According to restaurant workers surveyed by Lightspeed, 62% said that customers are more demanding than ever before. This fits with other data coming out of the industry, including a majority of restaurant workers reporting emotional abuse and disrespect from customers. Of restaurant operators, 72% agree that customer behavior has gotten worse over the past year.

Despite higher demands from customers, tipping hasn't improved on the same scale and 60% of workers say guests are ordering more food than before the pandemic but tipping the same amount or less. Loss of tips is especially impacting workers at full-service restaurants, who can make as little as $2.13 per hour before tips. As those businesses continue to grow takeout orders, workers lose out on potential tips.

Lightspeed surveyed 2,000 restaurant workers and operators on the state of the industry after 1.5 years of the pandemic.

These difficult conditions are leading to a mass exodus of workers from the restaurant industry. Turnover, which is already higher in restaurants than in many industries, is still elevated over pre-pandemic levels, according to a survey of 4,700 former, current, and hopeful restaurant workers from Black Box Intelligence. 15% of those surveyed workers left the restaurant world in the last year, and another 33% said they hope to leave by the end of 2021.

As workers leave, conditions become even more difficult for operators and remaining workers. Business owners say they're unable to find staff and in some cases even cite a lack of desire to work, while workers say they can demand better pay and benefits in the tight labor market. This mismatch has led to restaurants decreasing hours and closing dining rooms.

Nearly half of operators said that they reduced dining capacities voluntarily. According to a survey from the National Restaurant Association, 61% of fast-food restaurants, and 81% of full-service restaurants said that they decided to shut parts of dining rooms in August because they didn't have the workers to serve those areas.

Do you have a story to share about a retail or restaurant chain? Email this reporter at mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com.

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Smoke streams from the chimneys of the E.ON coal-fired power station in Gelsenkirchen, Germany in 2014.

AP Images/Martin Meissner

• The world is stuck in a dire energy crunch. It's affecting everything from gas prices to shipping times.
• Countries are struggling to source coal, natural gas, oil, and renewable energy as supply-chain problems linger.
• The crunch is already driving energy costs higher and threatens to keep inflation at concerning highs.

You're paying $3.29 per gallon to fill your car when it cost $2.29 at the start of the year. Your online orders are arriving way later than usual. And as winter nears, it's costing more to heat your home.

The complex web that powers the world is badly tangled. A combination of supply-chain bottlenecks, government policies, and ill-preparedness has left countries struggling to keep their economies running at full steam.

That energy shortage could erase a key recovery driver. The holiday season tends to bring a wave of consumer spending as people shop for holiday gifts. Consumer spending counts for roughly 70% of economic activity, but only when there are goods for people to spend money on.

Almost every major economy has contributed to the mess. China lacks an adequate supply of coal due to slowed mining and a refusal to import coal from Australia. That's led to energy rationing and factory blackouts.

The crunch doesn't stop there. Frackers in the US haven't returned to pre-crisis output, leaving oil supply well below the world's massive demand. Russia has worsened the problem by deciding not to send its natural gas to the European Union.

The insufficient amount of natural gas has dragged the world's power plants back in time. Oil, which is traditionally used much less often in electricity generation than coal or gas, is back in vogue as countries look for other ways to fuel their economies, the International Energy Agency said Thursday.

But that's also in short supply. OPEC is sticking with the production increases it scheduled before the crunch, essentially telling the rest of the world that they aren't coming to the rescue. That's already sent prices soaring. Oil now costs more than $81.25 per barrel, the most since 2014.

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The world's energy sources are all coming up dry. There's no quick fix, and the pressures "are not going to relent in the coming decades," the IEA said in its latest World Energy Outlook report.

The energy crunch is adding to an everything crunch

The energy crunch is having knock-on effects elsewhere. Commodities that China exports are in low supply, leading production prices to skyrocket. Coal prices have more than doubled since July. A silicon shortage has hampered semiconductor manufacturing. And companies that rely on Chinese factories to assemble their products face even larger backlogs than before.

The risks go beyond gas prices and heating costs. Advanced economies are already mired in supply-chain struggles. Blackouts at factories in China, India, and other manufacturing giants have delayed shipments. When products finally do reach the US on cargo containers, huge backlogs at ports have left vessels idling off the coast. Once goods are finally offloaded, a shortage of truck drivers has held up deliveries even more.

Solving the bottlenecks is no easy task. The disruptions "will get worse before they get better," Moody's Analytics said Monday.

"As the global economic recovery continues to gather steam, what is increasingly apparent is how it will be stymied by supply-chain disruptions that are now showing up at every corner," the firm added.

New efforts aim to alleviate the pressure. The White House announced Wednesday that the Port of Los Angeles will start processing ships 24/7. Corporations including Walmart, UPS, and FedEx will also shift to all-day-every-day models to ease the holdup.

Yet fighting the supply-chain nightmare doesn't address the core problem. The world's energy supply remains under immense pressure. That's already keeping inflation persistently high.

It all comes back to inflation

While Americans are still able to turn their lights on and fuel their cars, they're feeling the heat in their wallets.

Up until September, inflation looked to be cooling off just as the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve expected. Price growth slowed in July and again in August, yet the energy crunch seems to be thwarting the return to normal.

Prices rose 0.4% in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday, accelerating from the pace seen in August. Of the sectors powering the jump, energy reigned supreme. The segment saw prices rise 1.3% in September, exceeding the inflation seen in food, used cars, and accommodation costs like hotels and rent.

That's directly affected what Americans are paying at the pump. The average price-per-gallon of gasoline in the US rose to $3.29 on Wednesday, according to GasBuddy, marking the highest level in seven years.

If governments can't untangle their supply chains fast enough, you can expect price growth to stay worryingly strong. The post-pandemic normal might just include shipping delays, expensive refueling, and pricier goods across the board.

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GitLab cofounders Dmitriy Zaporozhets and Sid Sijbrandij

GitLab

• Shares of GitLab leaped 23% in their Nasdaq trading debut, a market cap of $13.48 billion.
• GitLab initially priced its IPO at $77 a share, putting its valuation at roughly $11 billion.
• The company on Thursday opened at $94.25, exceeding the target range of $66 to $69 per share it set late Wednesday.
• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.

Shares of GitLab leaped 23% in their trading debut on Thursday, giving the coding platform a market capitalization of $13.48 billion.

GitLab priced its initial public offering at $77 a share, putting its valuation at roughly $11 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its regulatory filing. The company on Thursday, trading under the ticker GTLB, opened at $94.25.

The company's largest shareholder is its co-founder and CEO Sid Sijbrandij, whose stake stands at 19%, according to the prospectus. He is followed by Khosla Ventures, which owns 14%, and then by ICONIQ, which owns 12%.

There were some doubters among Wall Street analysts following the strong debut, however.

"We believe GitLab is worth as little as $770 million or $5/share, which is 91% below the midpoint of the expected price range," David Trainer, CEO at New Constructs, said in a note. "What is most worrisome about GitLab is that it competes with some of the largest technology companies in the world."

The all-remote company - founded in 2011 by Sijbrandij and Dmitriy Zaporozhets - is best known for offering organizations a single platform to create a streamlined software workflow. Its product, called the DevOps platform, competes with Microsoft's Github.

GitLab was incorporated in Delaware in 2014 but does not have a main office, according to its filings. It has 1,350 employees across 65 countries.

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Bank of America Securities were the lead underwriters for the offering.

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Former President Donald Trump.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

• A New York judge ordered Trump to sit for a videotape deposition in a civil case.
• The case was filed by a group of protesters who said they were assaulted at a 2015 Trump rally.
• State Supreme Court Justice Doris Gonzalez ordered Trump to sit for the deposition next week.

A judge in New York ordered former President Donald Trump to sit for a videotaped deposition on Monday as part of a civil case filed by protesters who say Trump's security guards assaulted them at a September 2015 rally.

On October 4, State Supreme Court Justice Doris Gonzalez ordered Trump to sit for a deposition, which is scheduled for October 18 at 10 a.m. at Manhattan's Trump Tower. Trump's attorneys agreed to the date in a stipulation, court records show.

The lawsuit was filed in 2015 by a group of Mexican protesters who say they were attacked outside Trump Tower at the rally, three months after Trump announced his bid for the presidency. It was gummed up in courts during Trump's presidency, as Trump argued he should receive immunity from testifying, but is now headed to a trial, according to Benjamin Dictor, an attorney representing the protestors.

"After defendants spent years unsuccessfully fighting to keep Donald Trump from testifying under oath, we will be taking his testimony in this case on Monday," Dictor, an attorney at Eisner, Dictor & Lamadrid, told Insider. "We look forward to presenting this case, including Mr. Trump's video testimony, to a jury."

The suit named Trump, the Trump Organization, the Trump campaign, Trump's former head of security Keith Schiller, security guards Gary Uher and Edward Jon Deck Jr., and two others who were identified as John Doe 3 and 4 as defendants.

Attorneys for the protestors subpoenaed Trump in the case, arguing in court filings that the guards attacked the protestors as part of their official duties, citing Trump's comments at election rallies where he has encouraged violence against hecklers. The deposition could be shown to jurors at a trial, according to Dictor, who is also an attorney for the NewsGuild of New York, which represents Insider Union members.

Trump's attorneys asked judges to quash the subpoena, and the case moved slowly through the appeals process. But after Trump left office earlier this year, a New York state judge dismissed the arguments as moot and moved the case forward.

Trump faces numerous civil lawsuits, many of which are progressing now that he is no longer president. Earlier in October, another New York state judge ordered Trump to sit for a deposition before the end of the year in a lawsuit Summer Zervos brought against him over sexual misconduct claims.

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Housing has become so expensive that millennials are buying homes with friends.

Marko Geber/Getty Images

• Millennials are buying houses with their friends to become homeowners, the WSJ reports.
• The housing crisis has pushed home prices to record highs, boxing some millennials out of the market.
• Also - it's just really expensive to be single.

First-time homebuying millennials are finding a loophole in today's housing crisis: buying a home with their friends.

Some members of the generation are turning to co-buying as a way to overcome economic and cultural hurdles that stand in the way of homeownership, The Wall Street Journal's Alex Janin reported. It's a pre-pandemic trend, she wrote, largely accelerated by the desire for remote work and an expensive real estate market.

The number of buyers purchasing as an unmarried couple during April to June 2020 increased to 11% from 9% during the same time frame in 2019, per data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

"During the pandemic, people have been renting and they may have wanted more space, and so they looked at, perhaps, their roommate and decided, 'Let's go buy a home together,'" Jessica Lautz, vice president of demographics and behavioral insights for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), told Janin.

Pre-pandemic, it was already a tough world for aspiring millennial homebuyers, who struggled to save for a down payment as they dealt with the financial fallout of the Great Recession, staggering student-loan debt, and soaring living costs. As they aged into their peak homebuying years in 2020, they led a housing boom that soon morphed into a historic inventory crisis that was already forming over the past dozen years as contractors underbuilt homes.

Home prices shot up, reaching a record high of $386,888 in June. The biggest victim of this housing shortfall was the starter home, which was already nearing its demise even before the pandemic. While the housing market has since begun to cool and contractors have begun to build more homes, these homes are in the higher end of the market, NAR's director of housing and commercial research, Gay Cororaton, told Insider.

These affordability issues have boxed many millennials out of the housing market, forcing them to get resourceful in finding ways to fast-track their path to homeownership. For some, that's moving out to the exurbs or buying fixer-uppers. For others, it's inventing their own commune.

The single life is an expensive one

Millennials' lifestyle choices are also shaping their co-buying decisions.

The generation has established a new normal, in which getting married and having kids comes later in life, after going to college and becoming financially settled. It's contributing to a decline in marriage rates and birth rates.

Millennials "have a lot more options and they don't have to settle down quite as early as people in previous generations were expected to do," Clare Mehta, an associate professor of psychology at Emmanuel College, previously told Insider.

Homeownership is the one milestone that remains important to the generation. To nearly three-fourths of millennials surveyed in a Bank of America Research study, it's more significant than getting married and having children. It partly explains why more millennial couples are buying houses together before tying the knot.

But buying a house when you don't have a partner isn't quite as feasible. As Insider's Juliana Kaplan recently reported on recent Pew data, nearly 40% of young adults who aren't in couples make less money than their peers.

It's especially troublesome for women, who typically make less than men regardless of relationship status thanks to the wage gap. Recent research from Freddie Mac found that the majority of single women head of household renters (60%) think they won't ever be able to afford the home. Most said they don't have enough savings for a down payment or think a mortgage would be too expensive.

Teaming up with a friend or roommate cuts the individual price of a home in half, enabling millennials to buy a home with less money saved. While there are complicated factors involved, such as deciding how to share equity and what to do in the case of a fallout, millennials are ultimately seeing the move as a win-win situation: they get a stake in an appreciating real estate market and get to fulfill their desire for communal living.

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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

• Sinema won't back larger spending bill until the House passes infrastructure bill, Reuters reported.
• The Arizona Democrat's opposition would effectively stall the party-line bill.
• Progressives are assailing Sinema for refusing to lay out what she seeks in the safety-net bill.

Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona is threatening to torpedo Biden's agenda, telling a group of fellow moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives that she won't support a multitrillion-dollar reconciliation package until Congress passes the $1 trillion infrastructure spending bill first, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Reuters cited a source briefed on the meeting in its report about the request by Sinema, a key moderate whose resistance to the reconciliation deal has stalled Biden's signature legislation.

In the split 50-50 Senate, Sinema wields power to prevent legislation from moving forward given that Democrats are using a process known as reconciliation to muscle the bill through, relying on their thin majorities. It allows the bill to be approved with only a simple-majority vote, bypassing united Republican opposition and the usual 60-vote threshold in the Senate. But Senate Democrats must stick together for the plan to clear the upper chamber.

The $3.5 trillion budget-reconciliation package is a staple of President Joe Biden's agenda, packed with priorities such as affordable childcare, an expansion of Medicaid and Medicare, and expanded child tax credits. But Sinema and fellow moderate Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia are holding out on the bill as a separate bipartisan infrastructure package is discussed in the House.

House progressives, meanwhile, refused to pass the infrastructure deal unless the reconciliation package was approved at the same time. A progressive rebellion late last month forced House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pull the bill from the floor since it was on the verge of failing.

This week, progressives criticized Sinema for refusing to lay out what she seeks in the safety-net bill. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said on Tuesday that "the time is long overdue" for Sinema and Manchin to describe their priorities. Now, Sinema seems determined for the infrastructure bill to pass first.

Representatives for Sinema did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Insider.

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• Avocados are big business in Mexico, with an export value of $2.4 billion.
• Drug cartels in Mexico are fueling their profits by extorting farmers and seizing their land.
• Locals in Ario de Rosales organized a vigilante group called Pueblos Unidos to defend themselves.

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Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos (left) and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images/Axel Springer

• SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has congratulated Jeff Bezos for Blue Origin's spaceflight on Wednesday.
• Musk tweeted that it was "cool" to send 90-year-old "Star Trek" actor William Shatner to space.
• Before the trip, he had tweeted "Godspeed Captain," referencing Shatner's portrayal of Captain Kirk.

Elon Musk has shared his congratulations with Jeff Bezos for another successful human spaceflight at Blue Origin.

Bezos' space company completed its latest flight on Wednesday, sending four passengers to the edge of space aboard a New Shepard rocket in a trip that lasted 11 minutes. The passengers were former NASA engineer Chris Boshuizen, healthcare entrepreneur Glen de Vries, Blue Origin executive Audrey Powers, and "Star Trek" actor William Shatner.

Following the flight, Blue Origin tweeted a video of its landing in the West Texas desert. In the comments, Musk said, "Congrats, was cool to send @WilliamShatner to space."

Musk had also tweeted regarding the flight before it happened, commenting "Godspeed Captain" on a NASA tweet wishing Shatner luck for the trip.

Earlier this week, Musk had tweeted at Bezos on a much less congratulatory note. Bezos had tweeted a picture of a Barron's cover story from 1999 predicting that Amazon would fail. Bezos wrote alongside the image, "Listen and be open, but don't let anybody tell you who you are." In the comments, Musk replied with a single image of his own: a silver medal emoji. Musk had told Forbes last month that he would send Bezos a silver medal and a "giant statue" of the number two after overtaking him as the world's richest person again.

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UK officials are looking into possibly launching a digital pound sterling.

Thomson Reuters

• Blockchain-based companies Ripple and Avalanche have joined a group to support the creation of a digital UK pound.
• The Digital Pound Foundation is an independent group aiming to support the launch of a 'well-designed" digitized currency for Britain.
• The Bank of England is working on what UK's finance minister has dubbed a potential "Britcoin".

Ripple and Avalanche will work on advancing the creation of a digitized UK pound through an independent forum, as UK officials explore the possibility of a central bank digital currency.

The Digital Pound Foundation will support the implementation of a "well-designed digital Pound" and digital-money ecosystem, the group said in a statement for its launch Thursday. The independent organization was incorporated in June and proposed a model under which public and private sectors could work together to drive the UK's transition to a digital economy.

"If the UK is to maintain its globally competitive lead in fintech and financial innovation, it needs to create a digital Pound, and a healthy ecosystem for digital money," the foundation said Thursday.

Ripple said it is a founding member of the group and that Susan Friedman, its head of public policy, will join the board. Avalanche was listed as an associate member on the foundation's website. Lee Schneider, general counsel for blockchain software company Ava Labs, which created Avalanche, is listed as an originating member.

The Bank of England and the UK Treasury are spearheading discussions about potentially implementing a central bank digital currency or CBDC.

Members of the Digital Pound Foundation will conduct research and run 'hands-on' exploratory projects, among other activities, aimed to help roll out a digital pound. The foundation said ​​CBDCs and other digital-money forms can leverage technology to develop features such as programmable money, more inclusive payments services, and a "more robust and resilient" payments infrastructure.

The Bank of England and the UK Treasury are spearheading discussions about potentially implementing a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. "Britcoin" is what British finance minister Rishi Sunak earlier this year dubbed a possible cryptocurrency backed by the Bank of England.

The foundation, citing a 2020 study by the Bank for International Settlements, said 10% of central banks surveyed representing 20% of the world's population are likely to issue a CBDC for the general public in the next three years or less.

​​CBDCs and other digital-money forms can leverage technology to develop features such as programmable money, more inclusive payments services, and a "more robust and resilient" payments infrastructure, the independent group said.

"Technology is transforming human interaction and money must adapt to that. The world has become a global laboratory realizing the benefits of a new form of money," said Jeremy Wilson, chairman of the Digital Pound Foundation, in a statement. Wilson also serves as chairman of the Whitechapel Think Tank, a forum focused on disruptive innovation in financial services.

Ripple's XRP token during Thursday's trading session rose 5.5% at $1.15, according to CoinGecko, and Avalanche's AVAX token gained 3.6% to $55.60.

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Members of the House select committee investigating the deadly pro-Trump invasion of the US Capitol meet ahead of the first hearing in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill, July 27, 2021.

Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

• The January 6 committee moved to pursue criminal contempt charges against Steve Bannon.
• Bannon defied a subpoena to sit for a deposition, while other Trump allies will likely do the same.
• The investigation is also a backdrop for a legal showdown between Trump and Biden over executive privilege.

The select congressional committee investigating the Capitol insurrection moved to pursue criminal contempt charges on Thursday against former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.

""Mr. Bannon has declined to cooperate with the Select Committee and is instead hiding behind the former President's insufficient, blanket, and vague statements regarding privileges he has purported to invoke," select committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson said in a statement. "We reject his position entirely. The Select Committee will not tolerate defiance of our subpoenas, so we must move forward with proceedings to refer Mr. Bannon for criminal contempt."

He added the panel will convene Tuesday evening to vote on adopting a contempt report against Bannon.

Insider reached out to Bannon's lawyer for comment.

The January 6 select committee subpoenaed four Trump associates last month to provide documents and testimony as the panel investigates the Capitol siege and the events surrounding it.

Bannon and former senior Pentagon aide Kash Patel faced a Thursday deadline to comply with the subpoenas. The committee expects former White House communications aide Dan Scavino and former chief of staff Mark Meadows to sit for depositions on Friday.

Bannon's attorney informed the select committee late Wednesday that his client would not cooperate with the subpoena, citing Trump's claims of executive privilege.

"That is an issue between the committee and President Trump's counsel and Mr. Bannon is not required to respond at this time," Robert Costello said in the letter. Costello also said Trump's lawyer, Justin Clark, has "directed" Bannon not to testify or turn over documents "until the issue of executive privilege is resolved."

Bannon's "position is not in defiance of your committee's subpoena," Costello said, adding that if a court resolves Trump's executive privilege concerns or if he changes his position, Bannon will reconsider.

Rep. Adam Schiff, who serves on the bipartisan select committee, told Insider earlier this week that the panel is serious about pursuing contempt charges against those who refuse to cooperate with the investigation.

The Justice Department has previously declined to enforce criminal contempt referrals, and Schiff signaled that he expects that to change under the Biden administration.

"In the last four years, Trump administration witnesses who failed to show up knew that [then Attorney General Bill Barr] would have their back," Schiff told Insider, adding that Barr himself was held in contempt for refusing to respond to congressional subpoenas.

"That's no longer the case," he said. "We now have an attorney general who respects the rule of law and who believes that no one is above the law. And it's our expectation that the Justice Department will enforce criminal contempt charges against those who flout the law."

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, one of two Republicans on the committee, also said this week that lawmakers are ready to move forward with contempt charges against those who refuse to cooperate.

"In general, people are going to have to appear, or, you know, we will move contempt charges against them," she said, adding that the whole committee is in agreement on the matter.

CNN reported that if Bannon ignores the Thursday deadline, as his lawyer indicated he will do, the January 6 committee will "immediately" move forward with seeking a contempt referral.

The committee's investigation is also backdrop for for a legal showdown between Trump and President Joe Biden over the former's assertion of executive privilege over a set of documents the panel requested from the National Archives in connection to Trump's activities on January 6.

But the Biden White House rejected Trump's request to withhold the records from the select committee.

"President Biden has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States, and therefore is not justified as to any of the documents," White House counsel Dana Remus said in a letter last week to the National Archives.

"These are unique and extraordinary circumstances," Remus' letter said. "Congress is examining an assault on our Constitution and democratic institutions provoked and fanned by those sworn to protect them, and the conduct under investigation extends far beyond typical deliberations concerning the proper discharge of the President's constitutional responsibilities. The constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield, from Congress or the public, information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the Constitution itself."

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Table of Contents: Masthead Sticky

• Rastelli's and ButcherBox are among the convenient online shops to buy different types of meat.
• Some mimic the experience of your local butcher, while others serve as a one-stop dinner shop.
• Here's a full comparison of the five services on their prices, offerings, and more.

When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.

Porter Road/Instagram

As enthusiastic carnivores and amateur home cooks, we've tested a variety of online meat delivery services that source high-quality meat, send them safely to your house, and show you the best ways to cook them. After many cooking, grilling, and tasting sessions, we've found that five companies stand out above the rest: Rastelli's, Snake River Farms, Porter Road, ButcherBox, and Omaha Steaks.

Related Article Module: The best places to buy beef, pork, poultry and more online in 2021

Though they all provide the same basic service, they differ in cuts offered, where the meat is sourced, pricing, delivery frequency, and other factors. We love all of them, but one might better suit your tastes and preferences, so we compared their major differences below (scroll to the right if your screen doesn't display the entire table).

Rastelli'sSnake River Farms Porter Road ButcherBoxOmaha Steaks OfferingsMeat, seafood, and plant-based optionsMeat (beef, pork) Meat (beef, pork, lamb, chicken) Meat (beef, pork, chicken)Meat, seafood, sides, desserts DesignÀ la carte cuts and subscriptionsÀ la carte cuts and subscriptionsÀ la carte cuts and subscriptionsSubscription onlyÀ la carte cuts and subscriptions Price$13-$119Varies widely$9-$140$149-$270Varies widely ShippingFree on orders over $200, $10 on orders between $100-$199, $25 for orders under $100$9.99Free on orders over $100Free on all ordersFree on orders over $169, $20 on orders under $169Keep reading for all the details between Rastelli's, Snake River Farms, Porter Road, ButcherBox, and Omaha Steaks. Rastelli's

Rastelli's

Order meat from Rastelli's here | Save $20 off your first purchase with code INSIDER

Read our review of Rastelli's here.

What it sells: No hormone- or antibiotic-added beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and seafood. The seafood is wild-caught or sustainably raised, and there are organic meat options. It also sells roasts, sides, and plant-based hot dogs and burgers. 

How it works: Choose from curated bundles like the big mixed steak and seafood box ($319), or individual cuts.

Price: Curated boxes range from $99 to $119, and à la carte cuts range from $15 for bacon to $119 for grass-fed filet mignon.

Shipping: Free standard shipping is offered on orders over $200. It's $10 on orders between $100-$199, $25 for orders under $100. Your first order arrives frozen in an insulated tote (future orders come in a box). 

Why you might like it: 

• Variety: Seafood, meat, and plant-based eaters will all find something for them at Rastelli's. Plus, many options are pre-prepped, like beef wellington or parmesan breaded pork chops, so you can do even less work at dinner time.
• Optimized gifting experience: Rastelli's offers many gifting choices, including a special site if you want to ship to multiple addresses in one easy checkout. There's also a bulk gifting program for orders over 15. 
• Generous satisfaction guarantee: If you're not happy with your product, contact the Rastelli's team within 21 days of your shipment, and it'll provide a refund. 

Meat Delivery (Shipping Charge) (medium) Snake River Farms

Snake River Farms/Instagram

Order meat from Snake River Farms here.

Read our review of Snake River Farms here.

What it sells: Grassfed, hormone-free American Wagyu beef and Kurobota pork.

How it works: Choose from individual cuts.

Price: A la carte cuts range from $18 for top sirloin all the way to $599 for a Gold Grade striploin roast.

Shipping: $9.99 standard shipping on all orders. Orders arrive cold in an insulated box with a cooler bag. 

Why you might like it: 

• Unique beef and pork options: Snake River Farms specializes in American Wagyu, which is created by crossing purebred Wagyu with Angus cattle breeds to make a richly marbled and flavorful meat.
• High-end gifting that will impress: Some of Snake River Farms' boxes run into the $600-$700 range, an extravagant gift for someone in your life who prizes high-quality meat. 

Kurobuta Half Ham (medium) Porter Road

Porter Road

Order meat from Porter Road here.

Read our review of Porter Road here.

What it sells: Pasture-raised, no hormone- or antibiotic-added beef, pork, lamb, and chicken. 

How it works: Choose from curated bundles like the six-pound Grill Master Pack ($70), or create your own box by filling it with the cuts and quantities you want.

Price: Bundles can range from $60-$100, à la carte cuts range from $7 for ground beef to $112 for packer brisket.

Shipping: Free standard shipping is offered on orders over $100, and your order of individually packaged cuts will arrive cold in an insulated box. 

Why you might like it: 

• Customization and choice: If you have specific preferences in mind, you can filter by cooking time and cooking gear to find the most appropriate cuts. Porter Road offers a large variety of cuts, from the familiar to the underrated, allowing you to mix and match the ultimate shopping basket of meat.
• Unpretentious education: On each product detail page, you can learn what part of the animal the cut comes from and the best way to cook it. 
• Optimized online experience: The website and photos are laid out beautifully. It's fun and easy to shop through the site, which is a worthy offshoot of the original Nashville butcher shop. 

Best of Porter Road Box (medium) ButcherBox

ButcherBox

Order meat from ButcherBox here.

Read our review of ButcherBox here.

What it sells: Grass-fed, pasture-raised, no hormone- or antibiotic-added beef, pork, and chicken. 

How it works: There are five different subscription plans: all beef, beef and chicken, beef and pork, a mixed box of all three types, and a custom box. All pre-curated boxes contain 8.5 to 11 pounds of meat, while the custom box contains nine to 14 pounds. 

Price: A pre-curated box costs $137 per month, and a custom box costs $159 per month. 

Shipping: Standard shipping is free, and your order of individually packaged cuts will arrive frozen in an insulated box. 

Why you might like it: 

• Quantity and quality: ButcherBox is great for feeding families and large groups, so whether you're planning dinner for the month or hosting a barbecue, you'll have delicious, quality meat on hand to make everyone happy. 
• Automatic but flexible delivery: It's a subscription service, with boxes delivered every month or every two months. You can change your box assortment, size, and delivery frequency at any time before your next invoice date. 
• Recipe library: The large collection of recipes helps you make the most of your premium meats. 

Mixed Box (medium) Omaha Steaks

Omaha Steaks/Instagram

Order meat from Omaha Steaks here.

Read our review of Omaha Steaks here.

What it sells: Meat of all types, including beef, veal, and bison, fish and shellfish, plus full meals, sides, desserts, and wine.

How it works: Shop sitewide and add anything to your cart. You can order combo kits and à la carte items together. 

Price: Since Omaha Steaks sells such a large variety of products, you'll have to visit the site for more detailed pricing information. 

Shipping: Standard shipping is free on orders over $169 and $20 on orders under $169. Your order of individually packaged cuts will arrive frozen in an insulated box. 

Why you might like it: 

• Large product selection: Though its name says "Steaks" and its strength is certainly beef, you can basically shop for your entire dinner here, down to seasonings and specialty desserts. For true indulgence, you can shop huge King Cuts and Custom Cuts. 
• Highly giftable: Whereas the other services are better for personal use, Omaha Steaks is the best for gifting, offering special gift baskets and a variety of combo boxes to give to friends and family. 
• Deals and promotions: The site runs frequent sales on cuts, meals, and sides, and some combos ship for free. You can often save more than 50% and stock up on top-quality meat. 
• Rewards program: If you shop the site often, join the free rewards program to earn points on purchases and referrals. 

Filet Mignon Dinner (medium) Check out our related guides to meat and grilling

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Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona attends a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee meeting on October 06, 2021.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

• Sen. Kyrsten Sinema would overwhelming lose her next Democratic primary if it was held tomorrow.
• A new poll also found that 70% of Arizona's Democratic primary voters disapprove of the first-term senator.
• The Data for Progress poll suggests trouble if she doesn't improve her support before a 2024 primary.

Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona may be in political trouble, according to a new poll from Data for Progress, a progressive research firm that advocates for liberal policies.

The poll found that 70% of potential Arizona Democratic primary voters - made up of both registered Democrats and independents - disapprove of the work Sinema is doing as a senator. The first-term lawmaker has refused to back the $3.5 trillion social spending bill essential to President Joe Biden's agenda for reasons that remain unclear.

Furthermore, the poll found Sinema losing overwhelmingly to four potential Democratic challengers, including Reps. Ruben Gallego and Greg Stanton, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, and Tucson Mayor Regina Romero. Sinema, who won the Senate seat in 2019, will face a Democratic primary in 2024 if she runs for re-election.

In head-to-head matchups with each candidate, Sinema hovers around 25% support among voters:

• 62% support Ruben Gallego, 23% support Sinema
• 60% support Kate Gallego, 25% support Sinema
• 59% support Greg Stanton, 24% support Sinema
• 55% support Regina Romero, 26% support Sinema

Sinema, however, could face more than one primary opponent in three years. The poll found that if all five potential Democratic candidates ran, Gallego would lead the field with 23% of the vote, while Sinema would register at just 19%. Still, that could be her best shot at surviving a primary challenge.

Activists have actively begun recruiting challengers, including Gallego, to run against Sinema.

The poll also offers a clue as to why Democratic voters may be upset with Sinema: her opposition to Biden's Build Back Better bill, which is currently moving through Congress.

The poll found that Arizona Democratic primary voters would be much more likely to vote for a candidate who supports the bill's provisions, including closing tax loopholes, increasing taxes on the wealthy, and incentivizing clean energy use.

Sinema is notably opposed to prescription drug pricing reforms included in the bill, which 94% of respondents said would make them more likely to support another candidate in the 2024 primary.

The Data for Progress poll, conducted from October 8 to October 10, included 467 likely Democratic primary voters in Arizona and had a margin of error of 5 percentage points. Voters were reached via SMS text-to-web contact.

Sinema's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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