“I see a bunch of Americans drinking hot water with lemon and honey, eating congee, drinking hot pot, drinking more soup, eating Chinese vegetables,” one Chinese creator, Emma Peng, recently shared in a TikTok, currently with over 3 million views. “I just want to say that my culture can be your culture. Youre doing really good hydrating yourself. Im proud of you.”
The becoming Chinese trend is currently everywhere on the app, and while the name might give pause, its mostly about adopting lifestyle habits rooted in traditional Chinese medicine.
In the past month or so, Chinese creators have gone viral for espousing the benefits of common Chinese cultural practices,like drinking hot water, wearing house slippers, and trading cold salads and yogurt for hot congee and boiled apples during the colder months. The comment section, meanwhile, is full of Americans diligently taking notes.
Another creator at the forefront of the trend is Chinese American TikToker Sherry Xiiruii. In one viral clip, with 1.4 million views, she announces: Tomorrow, youre turning Chinese. I know it sounds intimidating, but theres no point fighting it now you are the chosen one.
Usually, when a trend involves adopting elements from, or becoming, another culture, it is met with cries of cultural appropriation. Some users have understandably expressed mixed feelings about the cultural practices they were once made fun of for now being repackaged and sold as a viral trend.
However, in this case the response from Chinese creators is is overwhelmingly positive. Its perhaps unsurprising a trend rooted in self-improvement has gained traction in the first month of the New year, especially given many of the wellness tips and hacks that go viral online have existed for millennia in Ancient Eastern medicine. As one TikTok creator said: All I have to say is what took yall this long to catch on?
Still, the appetite for Chinese culture is not limited to TikToks wellness algorithm. “You met me at a very chinese time in my life,” a viral X post from April 2025 reads, a nod to Fight Clubs iconic one-liner. Meanwhile, posts about chinesemaxxingwhich amounts to smoking cigarettes crouched low to the ground and donning toggle jacketsstarted cropping up online throughout 2025.
As producer Minh Tran wrote in a recent Substack post titled My Year of Rest and Chinesemaxxing: Part of the reason these videos dont feel like outright mockery is because theres some kernel of truth and desire in the cosplay. Though things have always been made in China, we are increasingly making ourselves in the image of the Chinese.
Here, he notes the Labubu mania of 2025. The collectible plush toys, made by Chinese toymaker Pop Mart, were in many ways the standout trend of the year, tripling the companys profits and sparking a buying frenzy that spanned the globe. Or recall when for a brief momentit looked like the Chinese social media platform Rednote would replace TikTok, as users migrated from the platform and bid goodbye to their personal Chinese spy ahead of the potential ban (that never came) over national security concerns.
Across tech and other industries, China is the U.S.s closest competitor and, in many ways, its greatest challenger. At a time where America is more divided than ever, and the country’s politics a source of national embarrassment for many, people are looking beyond the countrys borders for alternative ways of living.
Given the current geopolitical context, the becoming Chinese trend is perhaps about more than sipping hot tea and house slippers. As Tran writes: The threat of the Chinese Century looms over us all.
Silicon Valley fintech giant Bilt announced an overhaul of its credit cards on Wednesday, which notably will include an introductory rate on all card users interest rates at 10% for one year.
The promotion comes at a time of heightened political rhetoric around the cost of credit cards, with President Donald Trump announcing last week that he also is seeking a one-year cap on credit card interest rates of 10%.
New York-based Bilt, which originally built its business model around earning rewards on rent and other routine purchases, has been branching out into other financial products as it has grown. The Silicon Valley-backed startup was valued last year at $10.75 billion and has been expanding its partnerships with landlords, and is now starting to build in rewards programs for other routine transactions, like a customers mortgage payment. The company says roughly 1 in 4 landlords now accept Bilt.
In an interview, Bilt CEO Ankur Jain said Bilt was deciding to cap its interest rates on credit cards for one year to meet the bipartisan call for a solution on the issues of affordability that he says many of his customers are facing. Candidly, Jain also said it could be a chance to lure in new customers.
If [a credit card rate cap] is going to happen, wed rather be at the forefront, Jain said.
The 10% rate applies as an introductory annual percentage rate (APR) on new eligible purchases for the first 12 months for cardholders approved for one of Bilts three new cards. After that, purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances carry APRs that can run well above 20%, similar to other rewards cards.
The credit card industry has long pushed back against any caps on interest rates on its products, with the average credit card interest rate hovering around 21%. They have faced their most serious challenge yet with Trump, who has embraced the populist idea of capping credit card interest rates for one year. Researchers at Vanderbilt University estimated that Trump’s proposal would cost the credit card industry $100 billion. Left-leaning politicians like Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have long embraced capping credit card rates.
Bilt is effectively offering its new and existing customers a promotional ratenot unlike other promotions the credit card industry does to attract new customers, like a zero percent APR or promotions for customers who transfer balances. But the announcement by Bilt, being small relative to the giants JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, and American Express, may have political ramifications. Politicians can now point to Bilt voluntarily capping interest rates for all its customers and ask why its larger competitors are unable or unwilling to embrace the same move.
The new credit cards from Bilt follow the good, better, best model that other credit card companies have adopted. The center of the program is Bilt Cash, which is a points program that converts into cash back inside the Bilt ecosystem. These are often merchants that have signed up with Bilt to help attract customers in the local area. Bilt is also keeping its transfer partners with several airlines and hotels through its Bilt Rewards points program.
At the top end of Bilts new credit card program is the Bilt Palladium Card, with a $495 annual fee, which will give $400 annual credits toward hotel stays as well as $200 in Bilt Cash. The middle-tier card will be the Bilt Obsidian Card, which focuses more of its rewards accumulation on dining out and grocery purchases and carries a $95 annual fee. The basic card will be called the Bilt Blue Card, which has no annual fee, but will also offer cash back and points accumulation, but at lower multiples compared to the annual fee cards.
Bilt is trying to move beyond its credit card for renters identity and focus more on being a financial liaison between local merchants, landlords, and renters in the area. Bilt previously partnered with Wells Fargo on its credit card program, but that partnership is coming to an end in February in what appears to have been an acrimonious divorce. Wells Fargo apparently lost $10 million a month on the Bilt credit card, The Wall Street Journal previously reported, and chose to end its partnership several years before it was supposed to expire in 2029.
The new card is being issued in a partnership with the credit card operations company Cardless, while the bank Column N.A. will be the issuing bank.
By Ken Sweet, AP business writer
The most dangerous people in a company are stressed leaders.
I say that with full self-awareness. Ive worked for a few and came uncomfortably close to becoming one myself.
Ive always had an impulsive temperament. On good days, it made me decisive. On bad days, reactive. Add long hours and the pressure of scaling a startup, and my emotional state began to spill onto the team.
Focusing on mental health, rest, and mindfulness fundamentally changed how I build my company and how I see my role today.
Im still a CEO, but Ive also become something elsethe chief energy officer.
What follows is everything I wish Id known earlier about leading with emotional regulation and grounded energy.
WHY EVERY CEO MUST ALSO BE A CHIEF ENERGY OFFICER
We must stop seeing ourselves only through an operational lens. Gantt charts and product roadmaps matter, but not if you walk into a room as an emotional thunderstorm.
Once you understand that, you start to see the full scope of the CEO role, including taking responsibility for the emotional climate of our workplace.
The Workforce Institute at UKG found that 69% of employees feel their manager impacts their mental health as much as their spouses.
Stress spreads in a domino effect, and the leader is the domino that knocks all the others over.
Domino 1: Stressed leader. Research in organizational psychology shows that under stress, leaders are rated as less inspiring, less supportive, and less able to provide intellectual stimulation.
Domino 2: Psychological safety. Teams sense tension and stop bringing ideas, feedback, or early warnings. They dont want to add to your load or trigger a reaction.
Domino 3: Innovation and creativity. Managing your emotional state drains the resources your team needs to experiment.
Domino 4: Proactivity. When employees dont feel safe, they avoid ownership and only wait for direction.
HOW I LEARNED TO LEAD WITHOUT BRINGING STRESS WITH ME
Culture is shaped by what leaders practice, not what they preach. Small, daily actions help you stay regulated and create a team environment that feels safe and energized. These habits made the biggest difference for me, specifically the Mind Heart Body method.
I rely on this three-pillar system, which I call the religion of awakening, to reset before and after stressful moments.
1. Mind Notice the tension
I pause and look for micro-signals of stress: a tight jaw, shallow breathing, a sudden urge to move faster without any real reason.
2. Heart Understand the emotion behind it
I ask:
What am I actually feelingirritation, fear, fatigue?
What is this reaction trying to tell me?
Is this about the situation or about me?
3. Body Move to reset your state
Our nervous systems respond to movement faster than they respond to logic. A 10-minute walk or a few stretches can pull me out of fight-or-flight mode.
DEVELOP MICRO-HABITS TO RESET YOUR ENERGY
Micro-habits are simple, require no major cultural shifts, and have an almost immediate impact. These three have been a game-changer for me.
1. Set aside time to pause throughout the day
Start meetings with one minute of breathing or quiet reflection. It helps everyone disconnect from whatever they were doing before and step into the conversation with a clear mind.
Take regular two-minute reset pauses to notice your breath or posture. This calms your nervous system and prevents stress from building throughout the day.
Pick one time block a day to step back from multitasking. Constant context switching keeps you in a low-level state of stress.
Close your laptop for 30 seconds between tasks to reset your focus.
2. Set an energy baseline for the week
Every Monday, I map out my energy like my schedule. This helps me spot red flags before they become stress triggers and make space for recovery.
Whats likely to drain me this week?
Which meetings require my best energy, and which ones can be lighter?
Where do I need to build in recovery time?
3. Model healthy urgency
Every Monday I label tasks by priority: what needs attention today, what must happen this week, and optional things that can easily roll into next week.
This simple system forces me to prioritize intentionally instead of throwing everything into one important bucket. For the team, it removes unnecessary pressure and gives them the mental space to concentrate on what actually matters.
WHAT A PEOPLE- AND ENERGY-FIRST WORKPLACE CAN LOOK LIKE
When something helps me show up better, I bring it into the organization so everyone can benefit. As a CEO, I try to model the energy I want my team to feel. I lead Pilates sessions, share mindfulness tools and meditation techniques, and talk openly about moments when I need to reset.
But to make well-being work at scale, weve also built structure around it. We rely on the same methods that underpin our BetterMe Business solution, a platform that supports practical wellness habits in the workplace, to make things like emotional training, mindful breaks, and movement part of our day-to-day routines. Heres how that looks for our team:
Office spaces for movement, like walking paths for meetings
Training access, with in-office and online options
Running clubs, tennis meetups, and outdoor activities instead of bar events for team-building
Regular check-ins that create space for feedback and honest dialogue
Access to a corporate wellness platform that provides stress management tools
I believe that the future of work isnt about squeezing more out of people. Its about taking care of the energy that keeps them going.
Victoria Repa is the CEO and founder of BetterMe.
Ikea’s new store is in the metaverse.
The company announced Wednesday that it’s piloting a limited-edition pop-up shop in Roblox’s Welcome to Bloxburg game offering players Ikea products they can use to decorate virtual homes. This is the first time that the Swedish furniture retailer has entered gaming in a meaningful way, since an earlier Roblox game in 2024, according to the company. It comes after noticing for years how young adults and teens were building and designing homes in games and wondering why Ikea wasn’t a part of it.
[Photo: Ikea]
“Ikea wanted to better understand how Gen Z and Gen Alpha think about furnishing and self-expression, recognizing the need to meet them on platforms they already use and learn from how they interact with products and spaces in a digital environment,” Ikea’s chief digital officer Parag Parekh tells Fast Company.
“At Ikea we are always curious and eager to develop and connect with people where they are. Today many people are online, and many people are gaming,” he says. “This is an area where we want to see if there is an appetite for Ikea as a brand and our products also in the gaming world.”
[Image: Ikea]
Ikea’s goal: better understand Gen Z and Gen Alpha
The pilot is intentionally small, as its primary goal is to gather learnings for the company. For now it will be available only for people in Australia and Sweden from January 22 to February 5. Located inside the virtual Bloxburg Fancy Furniture Store, which players can access in the the game’s town center, people can choose from items like the Stockholm sofa, the Brännboll inflatable gaming chair, and Ikea’s stuffed toy shark named Blhaj.
The company says it chose its selection of products based on items that are less common in the game, are classic Ikea designs, or are items that the Bloxburg team suggested players might like.
“Overall, the aim is less about ‘selling’ a catalog and more about understanding how customers express home furnishing ideas and how Ikea products can support that in a digital world,” Parekh says.
[Photo: Ikea]
Unboxing Ikea’s tech moves
Ikea’s entry into gaming comes on the heels of other tech-forward moves. Last year the company relaunched its smart home line and opened branded kiosks selling Ikea products in select U.S. Best Buy locations. But it’s also late to the metaverse party.
Brands including Gucci, Nike, and Walmart opened their own Roblox experiences in 2022but the trend never caught on in a big way. Today, the dream of a widely used virtual metaverse has been declared effectively dead, and Meta laid off hundreds in its own virtual reality division on Tuesday. There are signs of a possible resurgence, though, with examples like Ikea’s foray into the space and Coach’s collection on Sims 4 this week proving that brands aren’t abandoning virtual worlds as spaces to show off their products completely.
[Photo: Ikea]
For Ikea, the challenge in translating its physical home furnishings for a virtual world was balancing recognizability and simplicity, since items needed to feel instantly like they had Ikea proportions, colors, and silhouettes while also working smoothly in a gaming context. Luckily, Ikea already has all its products created in 3D, and Bloxburg modified those same models with Ikea’s approval to turn them into gamified objects.
“We are very pleased with the outcome,” Parekh says.
There will also be an in-person component for Ikea’s Roblox experience, with hidden QR codes set to go up at Ikea locations in the two pilot countries that vistors can scan to unlock extra items. And an Ikea in the metaverse could one day come to other countries, too. The company says its virtual shop pilot is just a starting point, and it believes we’ll see more of its home furnishings in games going forward.
The State Department says it will suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries whose nationals are deemed likely to require public assistance while living in the United States.
The State Department, led by Secretary Marco Rubio, said Wednesday it had instructed consular officers to halt immigrant visa applications from the countries affected in accordance with a broader order issued in November that tightened rules around potential immigrants who might become public charges in the U.S. The suspension will not apply to applicants seeking non-immigrant, or temporary tourist or business visas.
The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of Americas immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people, the department said in a statement. Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.
The statement did not identify which countries would be affected by the pause, but President Donald Trump’s administration has already severely restricted immigrant and non-immigrant visa processing for citizens of dozens of countries, many of them in Africa.
The suspension will begin on Jan. 21.
Matthew Lee, AP diplomatic writer
After two years of declines, United States greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2025a change driven by increased electricity use, due in part to data centers and cryptocurrency mining, as well as cold winter temperatures that meant homes required more heating.
Emissions increased 2.4% in 2025, according to preliminary data from the research firm Rhodium Group. Thats higher than the countrys GDP growth, which increased by a projected 1.9%.
That the countrys emissions grew more than its GDP is notable: Climate experts have long noted that its both possible and necessary to reduce emissions while still growing the economy. And for the past few years, the U.S. has done just that. (Multiple states have also individually reduced their emissions while growing their economies.)
Now, though, 2025 has broken a three-year trend in which the economys growth outpaced our emissions growth.
Heating, data centers, and crypto mining
The main drivers of this emissions increase came from the buildings and power sectors.
Colder temperatures meant more homes had to rely on natural gas and coal for heating. The winter of 2025 specifically led to increased direct combustion of these fuels in buildings, driving up emissions by 56 million metric tons, or 6.8%, compared to 2024, per Rhodium.
Coal generation grew 13% compared to the year prior, making 2025 just the second year in the past decade in which coal generation increased. (Since its peak in 2007, coal generation has shrunk by 64%.)
Coal use grew in part because natural gas prices increased. Utility companies also delayed planned retirements for coal plants in order to meet a growing demand for power, and due to Department of Energy orders.
At the same time, electricity use increased. Total electricity generation grew 2.4% in 2025, mostly because of commercial buildings where data centers, cryptocurrency mining operations, and other large load customers drove electricity demand, according to Rhodium.
The surge in electricity demand comes as AI has fueled a boom in data center construction. (Rhodium’s report also notes that investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure were a major source of U.S. economic growth, as well.)
While transportation is responsible for the highest share of emissions, that sector only saw a 0.1% growth in greenhouse gases compared to 2024. Road traffic actually increased, but the growing share of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids on the road meant gas consumption declined.
How Trump policies could impact emissions
Though U.S. emissions increased in 2025, theyre still below pre-pandemic levels6% below 2019s emissions, and 18% below 2005s emissions.
But Trump administration policies could mean greenhouse gas emissions grow even more.
The Trump administration has already made efforts to curtail climate progress, bolstering the use of fossil fuels, canceling clean energy products, and removing federal tax incentives that would get more people to buy EVs or other energy efficient technologies.
Despite those efforts, which began as soon as Trump took office in January for his second presidential term, the emissions growth in 2025 wasnt really impacted by recent Trump or congressional policies, Rhodium says.
Apart from some modest contributions to increased coal generation from Department of Energy orders to keep a few plants running, we arent yet seeing the direct effects of these policy changes in U.S. emissions, the report reads.
That could change in the next year or two, though, the researchers note, particularly if data center electricity demand continues to surge and the grid responds with more output from existing fossil generators instead of new, clean resources.
Never skip leg day sounds like something a swole gym bro with killer quads might harp on about. But doctors also sing the praises of lunges and split bench squats, and not for the reason you might think.
In a recent article for Vogue, California-based physician Dr. Chris Renna said: Stronger leg muscles are linked to better cognitive function in aging mainly through their effects on blood flow, metabolic health, brain structure, and physical/social activity patterns.
Muscle mass starts to decline at age 30. As the largest muscle group in the body, maintaining muscle strength in the thighs and glutes is especially important for healthy agingand apparently, brain function.
Multiple studies back this up. A 2015 study of over 300 female twins, ages 43 to 73, found the more powerful their legs (measured by pushing one foot as hard and fast as possible against a pedal), the better their cognition a decade on (measured by a series of tests on memory and processing speed).
Another study of 1,500 older adults, with an average age of 70, conducted in 2018, also found an association between stronger legs and better performance on tests of their cognitive function.
A separate study also in 2018, this time conducted on mice, found exercising the lower extremities to be critical to brain and nervous system health. Researchers discovered that neurological health depends as much on signals sent from the leg muscles to the brain as it does the other way around.
This offers an explanation for why patients with neurological diseases experience rapid decline once their movement becomes limited.
It is no accident that we are meant to be active: to walk, run, crouch to sit, and use our leg muscles to lift things, the studys author, Dr. Raffaella Adami, told academic journals publisher Frontiers. Neurological health is not a one-way street with the brain telling the muscles lift, walk, and so on.
The brain-leg connection can be explained by tiny proteins called myokines. When the leg muscles are exercised, they release these messenger molecules, which reach the brain via the bloodstream. Here, they support learning ability, memory, and neural adaptation, the process by which the nervous system adjusts and improves its functioning.
A simple leg day session that includes weight-bearing exercises like lunges, squats, and calf raises will not only improve physical strength. By increasing blood flow, the brain floods with extra oxygen, helping to decrease harmful inflammation in the body.
If youve been known to skip squats or lunges at the gym, it doesnt help that modern life is, for many, characterized by a concerning lack of movement. Commuting to work to sit at a desk for hours, before commuting home again to sit some more on the couch, means our legs often arent getting the regular exercise they need to keep our brain working optimally.
So drop some squats in front of some Netflix or while listening to a podcast. Your glutes wont be the only part of your body that thanks you.
China’s trade surplus surged to a record of almost $1.2 trillion in 2025, the government said Wednesday, as exports to other countries made up for slowing shipments to the U.S. under President Donald Trump’s onslaught of higher tariffs.China’s exports rose 5.5% for the whole of last year to $3.77 trillion, customs data showed, as Chinese automakers and other manufacturers expanded into markets across the globe. Imports flatlined at $2.58 trillion. The 2024 trade surplus was over $992 billion.In December, China’s exports climbed 6.6% from the year before in dollar terms, better than economists’ estimates and higher than November’s 5.9% year-on-year increase. Imports in December were up 5.7% year-on-year, compared to November’s 1.9%.China’s trade surplus surpassed the $1 trillion mark for the first time in November, when the trade surplus reached $1.08 trillion in the first 11 months of last year.Economists expect exports will continue to support China’s economy this year, despite trade friction and geopolitical tensions.“We continue to expect exports to act as a big growth driver in 2026,” said Jacqueline Rong, chief China economist at BNP Paribas.While China’s exports to the U.S. fell sharply after Trump returned to office and escalated his trade war with the world’s second-largest economy, that decline has been largely offset by shipments to other markets in South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe.For the whole of 2025, China’s exports to the U.S. fell 20%. In contrast, exports to Africa surged 26%. Those to Southeast Asian countries jumped 13%; to the European Union 8%, and to Latin America, 7%.Strong global demand for computer chips and other devices and the materials needed to make them were among categories that supported China’s exports, analysts said.Exports of electronics and electrical equipment were by far the largest export category, rising 8.4% from a year earlier.Car exports also grew last year. Auto exports surged 21% in 2025 to more than 7 million units, driven by electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, an industry group, on Wednesday.China also exported more grain and fertilizer, while its sales of furniture, shoes and other labor intensive products fell.Strong exports have helped keep China’s economy growing at an annual rate close to its official target of about 5%. That has triggered alarm in countries that fear a flood of cheap imports is damaging local industries.China faces a “severe and complex” external trade environment in 2026, Wang Jun, vice minister of China’s customs administration, told reporters in Beijing. But he said China’s “foreign trade fundamentals remain solid.”The head of the International Monetary Fund last month called for China to fix its economic imbalances and speed up its shift from reliance on exports by boosting domestic demand and investment.A prolonged property downturn in China after the authorities cracked down on excessive borrowing, triggering defaults by many developers, is still weighing on consumer confidence and domestic demand.China’s leaders have made increasing spending by consumers and businesses a focus of economic policy, but actions taken so far have had a limited impact. That included government trade-in subsidies over the past months that encouraged consumers to buy newer, more energy efficient items, such as home appliances and vehicles.“We expect domestic demand growth to stay tepid,” said Rong of BNP Paribas. “In fact, the policy boost to domestic demand looks weaker than last year — in particular the fiscal subsidy program for consumer goods.”In the case of autos, domestic sales rose 6% in 2025, but they fell back toward the end of the year as those subsidies were scaled back or phased out in some areas.Gary Ng, a senior economist at French investment bank Natixis, forecasts that China’s exports will grow about 3% in 2026, less than the 5.5% growth in 2025. With slow import growth, he expects China’s trade surplus to remain above $1 trillion this year.
Chan Ho-Him, AP Business Writer
A GoFundMe page is raising thousands to support a worker at the Ford Rouge Plant in Dearborn, Michigan, after he openly criticized President Trumpto his face.
The worker, identified in media reports as TJ Sabula, heckled Trump while he was visiting the plant on January 13. In a video obtained by TMZ, Sabula can be heard calling the president a “pedophile protector.” In response, the president can be seen mouthing an expletive and telling Sabula “you’re fired” before flipping him off.
Ford reportedly didnt hesitate to act, with the automotive giant immediately suspending Sabula, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Fast Company reached out to Ford for comment.
Predictably, and almost just as fast, a GoFundMe page was launched in support of Sabula.
“TJ is a father of two young children, husband, and is a proud United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 600 line worker,” the page reads. “Funds donated will support TJ and his family to cover expenses during this time of uncertainty.”
At present, the fundraising page, which has only been live for about 11 hours, has raised more than $90,000.
Given that GoFundMe and other crowdfunding platforms are increasingly relied upon to help people going through financial challengessometimes spurred by political eventsit’s not the first time the site has made headlines recently.
Less than a week ago, after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot by an ICE agent in her neighborhood, a fundraiser was launched to support her family. The page has amassed over $1.5 million.
Additionally, a page for Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who shot and killed Good, was also created. That page has raised $700,000 at present, including a $10,000 donation from billionaire Bill Ackman.
Fast Company has reached out to GoFundMe to ask if it has verified the campaign for Sabula.
Engine troubles
Sabula’s suspension is not terribly surprising. While Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley and the president have had a complicated relationship at times, Farley has also expressed optimism about Trump’s second term.
He joined President Trump in December when he announced a proposal to slash Biden-era fuel economy standards. Ford also donated $1 million in cash and a fleet of vehicles to the president’s January 2025 inauguration.
Following his suspension, Sabula told The Washington Post that he has “no regrets whatsoever” about heckling the president. He added that Trump was only standing about 60 feet away and heard him “very, very, very clearly.”
If you’d like to do a thorough review of your portfolio and plan, here are the key steps to take. I recommend doing them over a series of sessions, not all at once.
Step 1: Gather your documentation
This could be your current investment statements, plus Social Security and pension. Pro tip: Set up a My Social Security account to get an overview of your benefits and earnings history.
Step 2: Ask and answer: How am I doing?
To find out if you’re on track to reach your financial goals, review your current portfolio balance, combined with your savings rate. Tally your contributions across all accounts. A decent baseline savings rate is 15%, but higher-income folks will want to aim for 20% or more.Also factor in other goals you’d like to achieve, such as college funding or a home down payment. Are they realistic? Make sure you’re not giving short shrift to retirement.If you’re retired or about to be, the key gauge of the viability of your total plan is your withdrawal rateyour planned portfolio withdrawals divided by your total portfolio balance. The 4% guideline is a good starting point, but aim for less if you can.
Step 3: Check up on your long-term asset allocation
Does your total portfolio’s mix of stocks, bonds, and cash match your targets? High-quality target-date series such as those from Vanguard and BlackRock’s LifePath Index Series can help benchmark asset allocation. My model portfolios can also help.A portfolio that tilts mostly or even entirely toward stocks makes sense for younger investors.If your portfolio is notably equity-heavy and you’re within 10 years of retirement, shifting to bonds and cash is more urgent. Just mind the tax consequences when you rebalance.
Step 4: Assess liquid reserves
Holding some cash is crucial to ensure you don’t have to tap your investments or resort to credit cards in a financial crunch.For retired people, I recommend holding six months to two years worth of portfolio withdrawals in cash investments.For those still working, holding three to six months’ worth of living expenses in cash is a good starting point.
Step 5: Assess suballocations, sector positioning, and holdings
Your broad asset-class exposure largely determines how your portfolio behaves. But your positioning within each asset class also deserves a look. Market strength has recently broadened, but growth stocks and funds that own them have outpaced value by a wide margin over the past decade.Finally, check up on your sector positioning, allocation to foreign stocks, and actual holdings.
Step 6: Identify opportunities to streamline
Why have scores of accounts and holdings if a more compact portfolio could do the job just as well?If you’ve changed jobs, you may have multiple 401(k)s and rollover IRAs. Consider consolidating into a single IRA. If you have several small cash accounts, you may be losing out on a (slightly) higher yield.Could you reduce the number of holdings in your portfolios? Index funds and ETFs provide pure asset-class exposure and a lot of diversification in a single package. I also like target-date funds for smaller accounts to provide diversification without any maintenance obligations.
Step 7: Manage for tax efficiency
At this point, if you think changes are in order, be sure to take tax and transaction costs into account. Focus any selling in your tax-sheltered accounts, where you won’t incur tax costs and you can usually avoid transaction costs, too. Within your taxable accounts, review the tax implications and/or get tax advice before executing trades.Also review whether you’re managing your portfolio with an eye toward tax efficiency. Are you making contributions to your tax-sheltered vehicles? Are your taxable accounts as tax-efficient as possible? For a lot of people, this is as simple as holding equity ETFs and/or municipal bonds and bond funds for their taxable accounts. Finally, think about tax-efficient withdrawal sequencing.
Step 8: Troubleshoot other risk factors
Uninsured long-term-care risk is a significant factor for those who are neither well off nor eligible for Medicaid. Develop a plan in case you have sizable long-term-care outlays later in life.Another common risk factor is providing help to loved ones. In this case, it’s often helpful to talk to a financial advisor and/or estate planner to figure out how you can help without jeopardizing your financial future.
This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance.Christine Benz is director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar.Related Links
5 Smart Ways to Diversify Your Portfolio for 2026https://www.morningstar.com/portfolios/5-smart-ways-diversify-your-portfolio-2026
8 Reasons You Might Need to Tweak Your Portfoliohttps://www.morningstar.com/portfolios/8-reasons-you-might-need-tweak-your-portfolio
An Investing Guide for Every Life Stagehttps://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/an-investing-guide-every-life-stage
Christine Benz of Morningstar
