• Facebook is going to spend a lot of money next year on making the social network a safer place.
• UBS forecasts that Facebook's costs and expenses of more than $20 billion could grow by as much as 50% next year, partly because of investment in security.
• But Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted that the issues may never be fixed. "There's no silver bullet," he told investors.
• Some activists think Facebook is just too big.

Wall Street may have breathed a sigh of relief at Facebook's third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, but the company repeatedly warned that it's not out the woods yet.

After a catastrophic Q2 report, which sent Facebook shares crashing nearly 24% in July, Tuesday was a more stable picture in which the stock fell and then rallied again in after-hours trading.

Wall Street was reassured that Facebook is moving in the right direction amid what must be the most difficult year in the firm's history. It was a story of "stabilization," as Deutsche Bank put it.

Read more: Powerful Facebook investors just co-filed a proposal to take down Mark Zuckerberg as chairman

But amid the relief rally, Facebook offered loud and repeated warnings that its controversies are not a thing of the past. During its earnings call, the company said 2019 will be a year of significant investment in the "arms race" against security breaches, fake news, and inappropriate content.

Facebook's seemingly perpetual grapple with these issues was laid bare just hours later, when Business Insider revealed that it was able to run a fake political ad from Cambridge Analytica, the disgraced political consultancy that was banned from Facebook over a giant data breach.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors that costs will rise to meet this challenge. "The last few years and next year are probably going to be the biggest growth in the investment in the security efforts that we will see," he said on Tuesday's earnings call.

What does that look like in cash? Facebook's total costs and expenses were nearly $20.4 billion in 2017 and it has already spent $21.2 billion this year, with one quarter to go. UBS said the firm's total costs could rocket by as much as 50% next year as Facebook protects its users.

And even then, Facebook may never be fixed. Here's the key quote from Zuckerberg (emphasis ours):

"When you're talking about security issues and some of the safety and content issues, these are not problems that we fix, right? They're problems that you manage over time and try to reduce and prevent issues from coming up, but there's no silver bullet where you do the thing and then you're done."

Has Facebook become too big?

Michael Connor, the executive director of Open Mic, an organization that helps shareholders campaign to improve governance at some of America's biggest companies, said it could be a sign that Facebook has become too big.

"They should be spending, but the question is can they ever spend enough to make the platform safe?" he said. "One of the concerns a lot of people have is whether it's just too big. And when it's too dominant without enough competition, you wonder if some of the unfortunate outcomes are a result of that dominance."

Connor helped coordinate a Facebook shareholder proposal, published on Tuesday, which will be put forward at the firm's investor meeting in spring of next year. It requests that Facebook publish a report spelling out its content policies and how it intends to tackle democratic threats, human rights abuses, and censorship. Connor thinks it would focus the minds of top executives on the task ahead.

Activist shareholder Jonas Cron, who is pushing hard for Facebook to appoint an independent chairman, welcomed Zuckerberg's commitment to invest in security. "Investing to deal with the negative social impacts of the company are resources well spent," the Trillium Asset Management senior vice president added.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg summed it up neatly: If people don't trust Facebook, they won't use it. That means the company must throw money at building its defenses, even if making them impenetrable is impossible.

"Protecting people's privacy is incredibly important because people and businesses will only use our services if they feel Facebook can be trusted and if sharing on our platform is safe. That's why we're making significant ongoing investments to better protect privacy and security," she said.

SEE ALSO: Facebook's US users stalled — but didn't fall — in a scandal-filled Q3 and investors are breathing a sigh of relief

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• Canada officially legalized marijuana, but people across the country have had a tough time accessing the product legally.
• Canadians are turning to the black market to pick up where provincially-run retailers have dropped the ball. 
• In Toronto, Canada's most populous city, the black market has seen "new life breathed into it."

TORONTO, ONTARIO — Canada officially legalized marijuana on October 17, but Canadians across the country have had a tough time getting their hands on the product — legally, that is.

Patrick and Michael, 26-year-old roommates in downtown Toronto, have had a somewhat typical post-legalization experience (last names withheld because they purchased illegal marijuana). 

The pair, who work at a tech startup and in commercial banking respectively, recently ordered $75 worth of marijuana from the Ontario Cannabis Store's website. The OCS — the provincially-run body that supplies Ontario residents with legal marijuana — sent the roommates a confirmation email that their order would be processed and delivered to their condo in one to three days. It would be just in time for Friday night festivities.

Friday came and went, and they heard nothing from the OCS.

"It's brutal," Patrick said. "No confirmation or updates or anything." That delay in communication forced the pair to hit up an illegal marijuana dealer.

The supplier met them at a restaurant on trendy Ossington Street within 40 minutes of sending a text. Patrick and Michael bought $40 worth of a potent strain, and the dealer threw in a free joint.

Business, the dealer told Patrick, was "booming" after legalization.

It's a strange conundrum. Selling the marijuana to Pat and Mike was illegal, but once in their possession, the pair could legally consume the product.

In the grand scheme of things, Patrick and Mike said waiting a few extra days to get their marijuana wasn't really a big deal. But for medical patients who need their marijuana daily — and the global financial community eagerly watching how this all plays out in Canada — it's not good a look. 

The OCS finally delivered Patrick and Mike's legal marijuana on Tuesday morning, days after it was supposed to arrive. 

The rollout of legal marijuana in Canada has been bumpy 

The rollout of legal marijuana in Ontario has been bumpy, to say the least. The former provincial government, under Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne, set up a plan to open a number of brick-and-mortar OCS outlets throughout the city of Toronto and across the province — Canada's most populous — on October 17.

When now-Premier Doug Ford took over the provincial government at the end of June, his Conservative party scrapped the Liberal plan entirely.

The party settled on a strategy to run marijuana sales online-only on October 17, the day legalization went into effect, with a plan to allow private retailers to open pot shops in April 2019.

Under provincial law, the OCS is the only vendor allowed to sell marijuana until retail licenses are processed and issued next year. 

Read more: Some of the hottest companies in the booming cannabis sector are going on hiring sprees as Canada's legal marijuana market opens

The OCS has also created strict packaging rules around the marijuana products they sell. 

Prior to legalization, there were a number of "medical" marijuana dispensaries operating in the city of Toronto where people could purchase marijuana, albeit under a murky legal framework. These ranged from sketchy to surprisingly upscale, with deep product inventory and knowledgeable sales reps. 

To send a message, the Toronto Police Service raided five of them earlier in October, forcing many to close down to avoid jeopardizing their chances of getting a coveted retail license.

And while regulators figured Ontarians could make do with online-only sales until April, there were some unforeseen variables — as with any massive social policy shift.

Canada Post goes on strike, and customers are left in the dust

As the OCS contended with a flood of over 150,000 marijuana orders during the first week of legalization, Canada's postal service decided to begin rotating strikes. There was no one to deliver packages to Ontario residents who had ordered marijuana legally as a result.

On top of that, some of the licensed producers in Canada had earlier warned that there would be supply chain issues providing the amount of marijuana the provinces requested, according to The Financial Post. And a quick scan through the OCS store on Saturday showed that to be the case. Most products were either sold out entirely or had a limited supply left. 

I visited one dispensary — decked out in psychedelic colors — that had a few guys in their mid-20s sitting behind a counter. "We have nothing to sell you, bro," they told Business Insider, unprompted. "We're all out in the back. We're hoping to get a license so we can reopen next year."

Read more:Some of the hottest companies in the booming cannabis sector are going on hiring sprees as Canada's legal marijuana market opens

A dispensary on Queen Street East, one of Toronto's major thoroughfares, had the feeling of an illicit drug market. To get in, you buzzed a door while you were evaluated on a security camera. Once through, you had to hold up your ID against a small window of bulletproof glass.

Then another door was unlocked, and you entered a small interior room, where two young employees — behind another set of bulletproof glass — presided over jars of marijuana labeled with names like "Alien O.G." and "Bubble Kush." This was not a legal operation. Nor was it an operation that would bring any new customers into the fold. 

Customers are irate — and so are analysts

All this has led some customers to file formal complaints with the Ontario government. Others are speaking out on social media platforms about how OCS dropped the ball on their orders.

"Canada Post was never the issue here though... This is all just bullsh-t they keep feeding us using them as an excuse,"one Twitter user said on Sunday.

The OCS released a statement on Sunday that said there was "adequate product supply," and pinned some of the blame on the "mail and package backlog" at Canada Post. 

"Efficiencies and ways to further expand capacity at the OCS distribution facility continue to be made to help meet the massive demand. Our staff continues to work around the clock to fulfill customer orders and respond to customer inquiries and calls," the OCS said. 

The story is the same in other provinces. In British Columbia, the only legal dispensary open for recreational consumers on legalization day was not in Vancouver, by far the province's most populous city, but in Kamloops, a small town of about 90,000 people in the center of the province.

In Quebec, the province's provincial retailer said on Friday it would close all 12 of its stores between Monday and Wednesday until the supply chain issues were ironed out. The Canadian Press reported Quebec residents waited hours in line, only to enter a store with no products on its shelves.

GMP Securities, a Toronto-based investment firm, blamed the rocky rollout and distribution issues for the recent selloff in Canadian pot stocks.

"The extremely limited distribution network in many provinces, fulfillment challenges in Ontario, inventory shortage in Quebec and LPs coping with limited availability of excise stamps may take several months to be resolved," GMP Securities analyst Martin Landry said in a Monday note to clients.

"It becomes increasingly clear that recreational cannabis sales in 2018 will be much lower than previously expected," Landry said.

Canada's still working out the kinks 

The whole point of marijuana legalization in Canada was to eradicate the black market and make it more difficult for kids under age of 18 to access the drug.

"The grey market is getting a little bit of new life breathed into it," Emma Baron, the founder of the Toronto-based cannabis accessories brand Milkweed, told Business Insider. The grey market refers to the dispensaries and dealers who are capitalizing on the murky area between legal sales and illicit sales.

"The province has set the bar as low as it possibly can," Baron said. "To be fair, they also haven't been in the marijuana-dealing business before. They're working out the practicalities."

But still, it's given savvy dealers a leg-up, Baron said. "Your go-to guy from way back is powering up his cell phone again," she said.

According to Jay Rosenthal, who runs  Business of Cannab, a business-to-business news and policy platform for Canada's cannabis industry, the rocky rollout was to be expected.

"This is a transformational social policy shift," Rosenthal told Business Insider. "These are such early days. How could you not work out the kinks?"

Read more of Business Insider's cannabis industry coverage:

• The top 12 venture-capital firms making deals in the booming cannabis industry that's set to skyrocket to $75 billion
• The CEO of the biggest cannabis company in the US reveals what's next following a $682 million acquisition
• Hedge fund legend Leon Cooperman is investing in the marijuana industry — and it's another sign the sector is heating up

SEE ALSO: Canada has officially legalized marijuana for all adults

AND MORE: A huge marijuana company that just went public in the US saw its shares slip after a damning industry report. Here’s why cannabis investors aren’t worried.

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• Post Malone apparently believes he's been cursed by a "dybbuk box."
• In Jewish folklore, dybbuks are people who can't immediately go to the afterlife after dying.
• But there's no such thing as a "dybbuk box" in Jewish folklore. It was made up with a viral eBay listing in 2003.
• If Post Malone is serious about getting rid of a dybbuk, he needs to find a prominent rabbi.

Post Malone apparently believes he may been cursed by a "dybbuk box," which could be the cause of a string of bad luck he's had lately.

But if he wants to get rid of the curse, he's doing it all wrong.

In June, the "Congratulations" singer singer went on Travel Channel's "Ghost Adventures," where he was near what host Zak Bagans called a "dybbuk box," thus apparently releasing a curse that led to a series of unfortunate events. This curse may be the reason, people believe, why Malone's plane's tires blew out, why his Rolls-Royce was in a car accident, and why his former house was robbed.

Now Malone is planning to visit Bagans's "haunted museum" again, according to TMZ.

But if he's hoping to reverse the curse by touching the box, well, that's not how any of this works.

Dybbuks are an invention of Eastern European Jewish folklore. They're supposedly a person who died, but who still needs to atone for a sin before going to the afterlife. And they sometimes possess people.

The first instances of people believing in dybbuks originated in the early 1600s, according to the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, but the idea has roots in older ideas from Jewish mysticism. There was then a resurgence of interest in them in the 1900s when the dybbuk was featured in the short stories and books of Nobel Prize-winning Yiddish author Isaac Bashevis Singer. But they've mostly remained a literary fascination. amd few if any Jewish communities today believe that dybbuks are real.

Moreover, there is no such thing as a Dybbuk box in Jewish folklore. The first one to exist — and the one Bagans owns — is a wine cabinet that popped up on eBay in 2003. It went viral when owner Kevin Mannis accompanied the listing with a horror story he wrote about buying it at the estate sale of a Jewish woman. Since then, other people have listed cabinets they call "Dybbuk boxes" for inflated prices on eBay, and Danish director Ole Bornedal used one as the inspiration for the poorly reviewed 2012 horror movie "The Possession."

Read more: Postmates reveals that Post Malone is its '#1 most dedicated customer,' and he's spent more than $40,000 on the app in the past year

But let's say, for the sake of argument, Post Malone is possessed by a dybbuk. What should he do to get rid of it?

According to Jewish folklore, the only way to do it is to find a great rabbi, whose holiness is key to getting rid of the spirit. There are various actions involved — prayers, blowing ram horns, lighting candles — but none of it works unless it's being done by someone who's righteous enough to pull it off.

Indeed, later dybbuk stories seemed to exist to emphasize the holiness of certain rabbis, according to YIVO.

"A number of exorcism accounts are found in later Hasidic hagiographical literature," historian Morris Faierstein wrote on the site. "In each case, the purpose of the story is to demonstrate the holiness of the [rabbi] involved."

So maybe Post's got a rabbi on the line?

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• President Donald Trump floated the idea that he could end so-called birthright citizenship in the United States with an executive order.
• House Speaker Paul Ryan said the president would have no such authority, echoing most legal scholars on the issue.
• Trump fired back at Ryan on Wednesday, telling him to instead focus his energy on defending the House majority in the elections next week.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump went after House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday for refusing to back his idea to strip birthright citizenship by executive order.

SEE ALSO: Nancy Pelosi guarantees Democrats will win the House majority

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• Many people struggle to ration their Halloween candy or limit themselves to just one piece. 
• This has nothing to do with lack of willpower or restraint. 
• TIME reports that the combination of fat, sugar, and salt trigger pathways in the brain that make people eat for pleasure rather than hunger. 
• There are ways to avoid a candy binge. 

It's almost impossible to resist candy, especially on Halloween night.

After all, you put so much mental effort into a creating a costume and so much physical effort into walking around your neighborhood to score free treats (or if you're an adult, so much money into buying candy for trick-or-treaters who never came.) More often than not, one piece turns into two, which turns into three. Before you know it, you've eaten all the candy that you promised you would save. 

But your inability to limit yourself to one piece of candy has nothing to do with a lack of willpower. It all comes down to science (and some tasty ingredients).

While you may assume that sugar is solely to blame for your candy addiction, that's not completely true. According to TIME, the combination of sugar, fat, and salt kickstarts the hedonic eating system— otherwise known as "eating for pleasure". When this system is activated, it overrides the signals that regulate normal hunger and satiety, causing people to overeat. 

Read more:What happens when you eat too much sugar 

There is also the nostalgia factor, as Rachele Pojednic, an assistant professor of nutrition at Simmons University, explained to TIME. 

"We've all had experiences with food where there's this really wonderful memory around it, and we have this pleasure memory that goes along with it," Pojednic said. "It's not just pleasure from the taste or the smell of it, but also the situation that goes along with it."

Though it's difficult to override your brain, there are some tricks you can try to curb your sugar craving and avoid a Halloween candy-induced coma. 

For starters, you can add some extra protein to your meals throughout the day. This will keep you fuller for longer and potentially keep you from eating too much candy later in the night. 

When it comes time to eat the candy, practice intuitive eating— eating what you feel like eating, with zero guilt. This also means asking yourself if you really want to eat that piece of candy, or if you're doing it because you feel like you have to, 

Another trick is to place your candy somewhere out of sight, according to Psychology Today. Even putting it in a cabinet or drawer instead of right on the counter will keep you from seeing it and being tempted by it on a daily basis. 

Read more:How to store your Halloween candy so it lasts longer 

And if you do eat all your candy at the same time, don't stress about it. New research suggests it's better to eat all your candy at once, as excess sugar over time can cause more damage to your teeth than lots of sugar eaten in one sitting. 

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

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• A baggage handler took a nap in the cargo hold of an American Airlines plane at Kansas City, and woke up in Chicago.
• The unnamed 27-year-old suffered no injuries on the flight from Kansas City International Airport to Chicago's O'Hare Airport.
• He has been suspended from his job at American Airlines-owned Piedmont Airlines at Kansas City airport.

A baggage handler fell asleep in the cargo hold of an American Airlines plane at Kansas City airport early Saturday morning, and got flown all the way to Chicago.

The unnamed 27-year-old man, who works for American Airlines subsidy Piedmont Airlines, "inadvertently fell asleep in the forward cargo hold of a Boeing 737-800 aircraft," American Airlines told INSIDER.

American Airlines flight AA363, which carried 80 passengers, took off from Kansas City International Airport at 6:07 a.m. and landed at Chicago's O'Hare Airport at 7:09 a.m.

Ground crew found him after the flight landed and taxied in Chicago, American Airlines told INSIDER. It's not clear whether he was asleep or awake at the time.

Authorities are now investigating how the man  He has been suspended from his job in the meantime, American Airlines told INSIDER.

The man did not have any injuries and did not seek medical attention after he was found, American Airlines said.

CBS and Fox News also reported that the man told Chicago police that he was drunk and passed out in the cargo hold. It's not clear where he made this claim to the police, but he was neither arrested nor charged, the news outlets said.

American Airlines did not respond to INSIDER's request for comment on the alleged intoxication.

American Airlines told INSIDER: "Our top priority is ensuring the well-being of the Piedmont employee, and we are grateful that he did not sustain any injuries."

"The American team is very concerned about this serious situation, and we are reviewing what transpired with our Piedmont and Kansas City colleagues."

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• Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect Robert Bowers pleaded not guilty on Thursday, requesting a jury trial.
• Bowers was indicted on 44 criminal counts for the shooting and faces the death penalty.

On Thursday, Robert Bowers pleaded "not guilty" to  44 counts related to the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh this past weekend. Bowers also requested a jury trial. 

The counts include murder, hate crimes, and obstructing religious practices. 

On Saturday, 46-year-old Bowers allegedly shot and killed 11 worshippers at the synagogue, carrying an AR-15 and three handguns he purchased legally. It's the deadliest attack on a Jewish community in the history of the US, according to the Anti-Defamation league.

A federal grand jury indicted Bowers on 44 criminal counts Wednesday. Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Unlike his first court appearance earlier this week, Bowers walked into court Thursday morning. Earlier this week he was wheeled in in a wheelchair.

SEE ALSO: The Pittsburgh synagogue shooter has been indicted on a total of 44 criminal counts — and prosecutors will seek the death penalty

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Whether you're on the lookout for love or just want to avoid giving the wrong impression, it's important to be able to recognize the signs of flirting.

Here are a few subtle clues that someone might actually be flirting with you and not just being friendly.

They make prolonged eye contact.

Eye contact can be a powerful flirting technique. Ina study published in the Journal of Research in Personality, researchers found that participants who gazed into each other's eyes for prolonged periods were more likely to report feelings of affection for the other person.

Though someone may not be consciously trying to woo you with endless gazes, eye contact is a good indicator that someone finds you interesting and potentially attractive.

They shoot you a lot of brief glances.

It's not just prolonged eye contact that can give away someone's romantic interest. According to Pamela Regan's book "Close Relationships," men, in particular, tend to directmany brief glances at the intended target of their flirtation.

This might mean that constantly catching the eye of someone across the room might be subtle flirtation rather than pure coincidence.

They play with their clothing.

According to research on nonverbal signs of romantic interest, toying with a sleeve or fidgeting with a button could actually be flirting.

Thestudy recorded the interactions of unacquainted participants and then asked them about their level of romantic interest in each other. Female participants were noted to be more likely to play with their clothing if they were interested in another participant.

• People who are overweight face a lot of prejudice every day.
• According to a new study from LinkedIn, they also earn less than their slimmer colleagues.
• About £1,940 ($2,512) less per year on average.
• "If you're putting in the hard work, you should be rewarded regardless of how you look," said plus size blogger Stephanie Yeboah.

Studies have proven the prejudice against overweight people. In society, being overweight means someone is judged as lazy, weak-willed, unintelligent, and as having poor willpower.

They're also less likely to be taken seriously when seeing a doctor, and are even forced into having eating disorders due to the idea losing weight is the pinnacle of a health transformation.

According to a new study from LinkedIn, obese workers also often earn less than their slimmer colleagues.

A survey of 4,000 adults in full or part-time employment showed that on average, UK workers who are classed as obese according to their BMI earn £1,940 ($2,512) less per year compared to those with a "healthy" BMI.

One in four workers classed as overweight felt they had missed out on a job opportunity or promotion because of their size, and this rose to nearly a third among those who were obese. Over half (53%) of overweight people said they felt left out of their team at work because of their weight.

Almost half (43%) of obese respondents also said they felt lighter colleagues progressed quicker than them in the company, and this was even true of 28% of people who were a healthy weight.

Read more:Only 10% of obese people know they are overweight — here's how to tell if you are

Women who are overweight or obese are also more likely to receive a lower salary than men of the same weight, the study found, with a gender gap of £8,919 ($11,547). Women are more likely to be affected by their body image at work than men — 39% of women compared to 28% of men — despite the fact men reported getting more negative comments relating to their weight than women.

A spokesperson for LinkedIn, Ngaire Moyes, said it's disheartening to see that bias based on size is still an issue in the workplace in 2018. But the company added that plus size bloggers like Stephanie Yeboah and Lottie L'Amour are trying to change the conversation and raise people's awareness of their prejudices.

"Dealing with people who make snap judgments about me because of my appearance is something I've faced my whole life," Yeboah said in a press release. "I want everybody to feel confident in their bodies and believe that nothing can hold them back if they want that job, promotion or pay rise. If you're putting in the hard work, you should be rewarded regardless of how you look."

Other findings of the study were that 16-24 year olds feel the most self-conscious about their weight at work, while Over 55s are the least likely to be affected. Overall, 28% of workers have had a colleague or manager make an offensive comment about their weight.

"The LinkedIn community has a number of groups and discussions on this topic, and we are pleased Stephanie and Lottie are opening up the conversation," said Moyes. "We hope more members will be encouraged to take part in the discussion about how it affects them and how size bias can be tackled."

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• Amazon has revealed its "early Black Friday deals" page a day earlier than last year.
• This year it also comes with a slew of gift guides, Christmas trees, and the holiday classic "It's a Wonderful Life" on Prime Video.
• Alexa device owners can ask the voice assistant for help cooking their turkey.

Amazon is getting into the holiday spirit.

The company has launched its "early Black Friday deals" page in the lead-up to the biggest shopping day of the year.

It's three weeks early, so don't expect the deep discounts that Amazon will have on the big day itself. Instead, the deals page will be more of a rebranded section akin to Amazon's typical Daily Deals.

The Black Friday deals include an iRobot Roomba for 20% off, a Sorry! board game for 32% off, and a Furreal Munchin' Rex toy for 22% off.

As of 11:05 a.m. ET, a message told shoppers searching the deals that the page was "experiencing heavy traffic."

Amazon launched a similar "Countdown to Black Friday" page last year.

Read more: More people are going to be shopping on their phones under the Thanksgiving dinner table this year

Amazon has also come up with more gift guides than ever, including not only toys but electronics, kitchen, home, and fashion items. There are also more niche lists not assigned to a single category, including stocking stuffers, "unique" gifts, white elephant gifts, gifts under $20, and more.

Amazon is also shipping and selling Christmas trees for the first time this year, in a variety of shapes and sizes.

On the digital-content front, Prime Video is now offering holiday classic "It's a Wonderful Life" to stream. Alexa device owners can call up Butterball's famous Turkey Talk Line via a skill that shoppers can enable.

Amazon is preparing to take the lion's share of online shopping again this season.

Most of this year's sales growth is likely to come from online purchases. Forrester Research is predicting 14% sales growth online but only 1.7% growth in stores. Analysts estimated that Amazon took nearly half of all online retail sales in 2017, and that it will account for even more this year.

Forrester estimates that online holiday sales will account for more than 32% of all online sales for the year.

SEE ALSO: Target is beefing up its free shipping promotion for the holidays — here's how it compares with Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy

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Hedge funds, venture capital firms and a smattering of private equity houses have helped the overall number of cryptocurrency funds increase by more than 11% in 2018 alone, Morgan Stanley estimates. 

The US bank charted the rise in the bar chart on the left. From only 45 cryptocurrency funds in 2016, the number has soared to an estimated 220 this year.

In a note dated October 31, Morgan Stanley mapped the gains of crypto assets, noting that the value of assets managed at these funds has soared to $7.1 billion, from only $675 million at the beginning of January 2017. That's a $6.4 billion boom in crypto assets under management in under two years.

It could have been even higher, says Morgan Stanley. 

"From our client conversations we find three major obstacles preventing large scale investment in the cryptocurrency space," analysts at the bank said. They are:

• Underdeveloped regulation so asset managers don’t want to take on the reputational risk

• Lack of a custodian solution to hold the cryptocurrency and private keys

• Lack of large financial institutions and asset managers currently invested," the bank said in the report.

Morgan Stanley said in the report that its "Rapidly Morphing Thesis"  — which tracks what it believes will be crypto's most prominent usage — is now that bitcoin and other cryptos will act as a "new institutional investment class."

Previous incarnations of the thesis have seen crypto as a "replacement for existing payment systems," a "store of value," and a "refuge for depreciating currency."

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• It's November 1, which means the Starbucks seasonal cups are back.
• People have mixed reactions.
• Some are excited, while others think there's not enough representation.
• Most just think it's too early for the winter holidays.

It's November 1, which means the Starbucks red holiday cups are back with vengeance.

Starting Friday, the coffee chain will be offering four decorative cups: red stripes, holly leaves meant to resemble coffee cherries, red houndstooth, and green stars.

Over the last few years, Starbucks holiday cups have been mired in controversy. Notably, in 2015, a viral video claimed that Starbucks "removed Christmas" from its minimalist cups, a sure sign that they were warriors in the War Against Christmas.

In the ensuing years, the internet outrage machine has raged on. 

Read more: Starbucks added a Christmas Strawberry Cake Frappuccino to its holiday menu, but you have to go to Japan to try it

And despite Starbucks' efforts to appease the pro-Christmas contingent, people still found something to complain about  

Of course, some are excited.

Many think it's simply too soon for red cups.

Others are already exhausted by the outrage cycle.

A few would like to see more representation from Starbucks. 

But some think the chain struck the correct balance — and even like the cups.

The chain is also giving away free, reusable red cups to customers who order a seasonal beverage on Friday. 

As they say, 'tis the season.

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

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• On Wednesday, Gigi Hadid shared two photos of a DIY pumpkin-inspired makeup look on Instagram.
• Hadid covered most of her face in orange paint, save for the upper-left half.
• She also drew a black triangle over her right eye and an exaggerated smile to mimic a jack-o'-lantern.
• The model completed the look with darker orange lines to mimic the grooves of a pumpkin.
• A timeless choice for a last-minute Halloween costume, the model's look can be recreated with lipstick and face paint.

On Wednesday, Hadid shared two photos of a DIY pumpkin-inspired makeup look on Instagram.

"Felt like bein crafty more than dressing up today, so I painted me a jack-o-lantern! "she captioned the post. "HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!!!!!!"

A timeless choice for a last-minute Halloween costume, the model's makeup look can easily be recreated with some black lipstick and black and orange face paint.

Read more:23 Halloween beauty looks you should try

While you can experiment to find a look that works for you, Hadid opted to cover most of her face in orange paint, save for the upper-left half. She also drew and filled in a black triangle over her right eye, and an exaggerated smile over her lips, to mimic the cutouts in a carved jack-o'-lantern.

The model completed the look with darker orange lines to mimic the grooves of a pumpkin and a few stitches along the edges of the orange face paint.

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• Babies wore fake face tattoos, grills and messy buns to dress up as rapper Post Malone for Halloween. 
• Some even replicated the suits worn by Post on the red carpet this year. 
• Others carried fake cigarettes, Olive Garden bags, and homemade "Beerbongs & Bentleys" tour T-shirts. 

Post Malone's face tattoos, teeth grill, and cigarette habit aren't things a baby would normally be associated with (we hope), but this Halloween the rapper's look was all the rage.

For Halloween this year, babies, toddlers, and young kids across the US dressed in suits, wore braids, and carried Olive Garden bags to channel the "Beerbongs & Bentleys" rapper — and the costumes were incredible.

For Post’s iconic face ink, many parents appeared to use temporary tattoos or drew the art on their tots themselves.

Toddlers donned braids, messy buns and short curls, revealing Post's wide range of hairstyles over the last year — Post recently cut his hair short and people believe it could end an alleged curse he might be under.

Some opted for Post's casual plaid shirt and jeans look, while others wore suits and turtlenecks that the rapper aas worn in photo shoots and on the red carpet.

Read more:Here's what Post Malone really needs to do if he wants to get rid of his alleged dybbuk box curse

Post Malone, real name Austin Post, hasn't reacted publicly to the iconic costumes, but he might be busy trying to end the curse he believes he’s under after touching a "dybbuk box."

Since the supposed curse started in June, Malone’s plane’s tires blew out, his Rolls-Royce was in a car accident, and his former house was robbed.

Hopefully these babes will escape whatever unfortunate spell Post Malone is under.

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• A Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) consumer watchdog series has published a new study that names the five dirtiest surfaces on an airplane.
• According an analysis conducted by "Marketplace," a CBC consumer watchdog news series, headrests and seat-pockets are among the dirtiest surfaces one can touch on an airplane.
• Other extremely dirty surfaces include seat belts, washroom handles, and tray tables. 
• One reason for all of the germs on airplane surfaces is that flight attendants may be too rushed to clean them in-between flights.
• Air Canada and Porter Airlines pushed back on the findings in separate statements to Business Insider. 

A Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) consumer watchdog series has published a new study that names the five dirtiest surfaces on an airplane. 

According to analysis done by "Marketplace," a CBC consumer watchdog news series, headrests and seat-pockets are among the dirtiest surfaces one can touch on an airplane. The episode broadcasting these findings was aired by "Marketplace" on October 26. 

CBC reports the investigators took 18 flights between Ottawa and Montreal using three separate airlines—Air Canada, WestJet, and Porter—and then collected more than 100 samples from a variety of surfaces. 

From there, Keith Warriner, a microbiologist at the University of Guelph, studied and analyzed the samples, testing them for bacteria, in addition to yeast, mold, and E.coli. 

CBC reports Warriner found that yeast and mold were detected on a majority of the 18 flights.

Read more:A broken water main at JFK International Airport wrecked havoc on bathrooms at one of its most important terminals

Per the "Marketplace" report, the five dirtiest surfaces of airplanes are seat belts, tray tables, washroom handles, seat pockets, and headrests. The study issued the following conclusions: 

Seat belts had mold and yeast found on one-third of collected samples. 

Tray tables carried both high levels of mold and other bacteria.

Washroom handles carried bacteria as well as a high aerobic count, which is bacteria that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says indicates the level of microorganism in a product.

Seat pockets are extremely dirty, with a high aerobic count, mold, coliforms, and E.coli found on various samples. 

Headrests are the dirtiest surface on airplanes, carrying hemolytic bacteria, E.coli, and the highest aerobic count. 

One reason for all of the germs on airplane surfaces is that flight attendants may be too rushed to clean them in-between flights. CBC reports "Marketplace" spoke to multiple flight attendants and customer service representatives who acknowledged their responsibility in cleaning these planes but contended there "simply wasn't enough time to properly disinfect an entire aircraft." 

Business Insider reached out to Air Canada, Porter, and WestJet for comment. WestJet did not respond. 

Air Canada had no comment on the story, but did attach in their response to Business Insider an environmental microbiology scientific study that, in-part, concluded, "In summary, the airplane cabin microbiome has immense airplane to airplane variability. The vast majority of airplane-associated microbes are human commensals or non-pathogenic...there is no more risk from 4 to 5 hours spent in an airplane cabin than 4–5 hours spent in an office, all other exposures being the same."

In their response to Business Insider, Porter said they regularly groom their aircraft to correspond with Canadian Public Health Agency and World Health Organization guidelines, adding that, "Past Public Health audits of Porter have shown no findings. Studies have also shown the microbial environment on airplanes is no different than in offices buildings, homes and classrooms."  

SEE ALSO: A broken water main at JFK International Airport wreaked havoc on bathrooms at one of its most important terminals

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• Many early retirees prefer to spend their money the same way: on experiences.
• To them, experiences provide more value than things, which take up space and create short-lived excitement.
• Experiences can take shape in the form of travel, hobbies, caring for family, and passions.

In the world of early retirement, money loses its significance — so say at least four of the early retirees I've talked to.

But if money doesn't really matter during early retirement and becomes "unimportant," as Brandon of the blog Mad Fientist, who retired early at age 34, previously told Business Insider, how do early retirees decide when money is worth spending?

The answer is consistent among many: Early retirees prefer to spend money on experiences, not things.

"Things lose value, but early retirees understand that experiences tend to appreciate within our heads," Steve Adcock, the blogger behind Think Save Retire, who retired early at the age of 35, previously wrote in a post published on Business Insider.

He added: "Today, I would much rather take an inexpensive vacation to somewhere I love (like Sedona, Arizona, for example) than get stuff wrapped up as gifts. Early retirees are over 'stuff' and have often found that the less stuff they have, the more simple life becomes."

He and his wife give each other "the gift of experiences," traveling everywhere from Key West to Glacier National Park and visiting the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in between.

For many early retirees, experiences provide more value for the money

This is an example of what blogger Mr. Crazy Kicks, who retired at age 34, calls an early retirement lifestyle. The key, he previously said, is maximizing happiness per dollar — put your money where your heart is, but get the most bang for your buck.

"Having an early retirement lifestyle doesn't mean depriving yourself, it just means leading a more exciting and fulfilling life that is not dependent on spending large sums of cash," he wrote, adding that happiness is often drawn from doing fulfilling things that involve passions, like caring for family, enjoying good food, or pursuing hobbies. It's what he calls the most important part of defining your early retirement lifestyle.

Read more: People retire early for 2 reasons, and neither of them is money

"Too often we throw money at things because they are important to us without weighing our return on investment," he wrote. 

He used holiday gifts as an example. The excitement they elicit is short-lived and burdens loved ones with material junk; making memories through a home-cooked meal or activities can have a more meaningful impact on relationships, he said.

It's a similar train of thought that helps Emmy-nominated Hollywood producer Travis Shakespeare, who spent a year directing the documentary "Playing with FIRE," in which he interviewed more than a dozen early retirees, decide what's worth — or not worth — spending money on. He asks himself one question: "If I were going to die tomorrow, where will this land on my value scale?"

When it comes down to it, experiences outweigh material items for Shakespeare. He rented a tuxedo for the Emmy's because he doesn't own one, but he splurged on his dream trip to celebrate his 50th birthday on a luxury safari in Tanzania.

"I was like, 'There's no way I want to walk off this planet without spending three weeks on the Savannah in Tanzania' because that's an incredible experience for a human being to be able to encounter," he said. For him, the experience was 100% worth the money.

SEE ALSO: I asked 3 early retirees how people know they're ready to stop working, and they all said the same thing

DON'T MISS: A Hollywood producer who spent over a year following around early retirees has his own simple question to decide what's worth his money — and what isn't

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• President Donald Trump on Wednesday released an ad that blames Democrats for the case of a an unauthorized immigrant who killed multiple police officers in 2014.
• Many saw comparisons between Trump's new ad and the infamous "Willie Horton" ads that ran in support of former President George H.W. Bush against Michael Dukakis in 1988. 

President Donald Trump on Wednesday released an ad that blamed Democrats for a homicidal unauthorized immigrant, stirring outrage for its overt racial themes days before the midterm elections.

The ad prominently features Luis Bracamontes, an unauthorized Mexican immigrant who was given the death penalty in April for killing two California cops in 2014. The ad depicts Bracamontes as the poster child for unauthorized immigration and falsely claims "Democrats let him into our country ... Democrats let him stay." 

Bracamontes was deported twice for entering the country illegally. When he committed the killings in 2014, he was also not authorized to be in the US.

Trump's new ad also includes clips of unidentified people rioting in unspecified locations, seemingly portraying a migrant caravan heading toward the US border as inherently violent and anarchic. 

The president has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that the caravan is full of dangerous criminals and possibly people from the Middle East.

The ad ends with the question, "Who else would Democrats let in? President Donald Trump and Republicans are making America safe again."

Read more: Poll suggests Trump voters are more loyal to him than they are to the Republican Party

Critics and other observers, including some conservatives, decried the ad as blatantly "racist." Republican Sen. Jeff Flake called the ad "sickening" and "a new low in campaigning."

It wasn't the first time Trump has used Bracamontes' story in an ad. A January ad also featured him and accused Democrats of being "complicit in all murders" by unauthorized immigrants.

Many drew comparisons to the infamous "Willie Horton" ads that ran in support of former President George H.W. Bush against then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis in 1988. 

William Horton, who was dubbed "Willie Horton," was a convicted murderer serving a life sentence who was permitted to leave prison in June 1986 via a weekend furlough program in Massachusetts. Horton absconded during furlough and in April 1987 raped a white woman and stabbed her white fiancée, according to The Washington Post. As governor, Dukakis supported the furlough program. 

At the time, crime was at the forefront of American voter's minds, as brutal drug-related violence was a common occurrence in major American cities like New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. 

Supporters of Bush seized on these sentiments by creating ads that either alluded to or directly referenced Horton's story. One of the ads featured Horton's mugshot, while another portrayed Dukakis as someone who favors prisons with revolving doors. The latter was produced by Roger Ailes, who founded Fox News. However, the Bush campaign did not directly produce the ads.

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• Black Friday sales are kicking off soon.
• Target, Macy's, and Kohl's are opening on Thanksgiving Day.
• Nordstrom, Home Depot, and Costco will remain closed on Thanksgiving and reopen on Black Friday.

The holiday shopping season is upon us, with Black Friday just around the corner.

For those of you planning to hit the stores over the holidays, we have compiled a complete list of opening times on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

A growing number of retailers including Home Depot and Costco are protesting the so-called Black Friday "creep," a trend in which stores have been opening earlier and earlier every year on Thanksgiving Day.

Plenty of retailers, such as Target and Macy's, are still planning to hold doorbuster sales on Thanksgiving, however.

Here's the list of retailers' holiday hours that have been announced so far. We will add to this list as more stores announce their hours.

• Belk: Open 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving to 1 a.m. on Black Friday. Will reopen 6 a.m. on Black Friday.
• Best Buy: Not yet announced.
• Big Lots: Not yet announced.
• Costco: Not yet announced.
• Dick's Sporting Goods: Open 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving to 2 a.m. on Black Friday. Will reopen 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Black Friday.
• Dollar General: Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Will resume normal operating hours on Black Friday.
• GameStop: Not yet announced.
• hhgregg: Not yet announced.
• Home Depot: Open 6 a.m. Black Friday.
• JCPenney: Not yet announced.
• Kmart: Not yet announced.
• Kohl's: Open 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Will remain open until normal closing hours on Black Friday.
• Lowe's: Not yet announced
• Macy's: Open 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving to 2 a.m. on Black Friday. Will reopen 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Black Friday.
• Marshalls: Not yet announced.
• Michaels: Not yet announced.
• Nordstrom: Not yet announced.
• Office Depot/OfficeMax: Not yet announced.
• Old Navy: Not yet announced.
• PetSmart: Not yet announced.
• Sam's Club: Not yet announced.
• Sears: Not yet announced.
• Staples: Not yet announced.
• Target:  Open 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving to 1 a.m. on Black Friday. Will reopen at 7 a.m. on Black Friday.
• T.J. Maxx: Not yet announced.
• Toys R Us: Not yet announced.
• Victoria's Secret: Not yet announced.
• Walmart: Not yet announced.

More on Black Friday 2018:

• 'If you're open on Thanksgiving, it's hard not to pitch yourself as a greedy bastard': REI's CEO reveals why closing on Black Friday may be a smart business move
• Black Friday is dead — and constant discounts could be to blame
• More people are going to be shopping on their phones under the Thanksgiving dinner table this year
• Costco, Home Depot, and dozens of other retailers are bucking a major Black Friday trend
• Amazon has launched its first round of deals in its quest to win Black Friday

SEE ALSO: Walmart is eliminating the most dreaded part of holiday shopping

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Google employees around the world are staging a mass walkout Thursday in protest of sexual misconduct.

It follows a bombshell New York Times report last week that named executives who had been accused of sexual misconduct, including Andy Rubin, the creator of the mobile operating system Android. Rubin denied any misconduct.

Thousands of workers are expected to take part in the protest, which calls for people in Google's offices to walk away from their desk at 11 a.m. in their respective time zone. Protesters are using the hashtag #GoogleWalkout. Employees in London, Tokyo, and Berlin are among those to have already taken part.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he supported the protests and was listening to his staff. "We are aware of the activities planned for Thursday and that employees will have the support they need if they wish to participate," he said.

Business Insider is covering the Google walkout live. Refresh this page for updates.

Business Insider reporters Shona Ghosh and Sean Wolfe were on the scene in London and New York.

Google employees in Singapore were among the first to observe the walkout.

As 11.10 a.m. rolled around in Europe, other Google offices took part. This picture was posted from Zurich by a software engineer named Danila Sinopalnikov.

One protester brought a megaphone to the walkout.

"People are sharing stories about harassment, microagressions, inefficient process, broken culture," said a Twitter user named Ted, who described himself as a Google privacy engineer.

• A lot of celebrities got in on the Halloween spirit with their costumes this year.
• Some celebrities dressed up as famous musicians and TV characters. 
• Here are some of the best costumes from celebrity couples.

Halloween may have come and gone, but it’s still fun to see what celebrities dressed up as. This year, some of the best Halloween looks were brought to us by celebrity couples.

Here are some of the best celebrity couple costumes from 2018.

The Weeknd and Bella Hadid looked unrecognizable as Beetlejuice and Lydia

The makeup is pretty impressive. 

Sarah Hyland and Wells Adams made everyone laugh as a punny Taco Belle

Hyland dressed up as a taco and Adams was Princess Belle from "Beauty & the Beast." Together, they were Taco Belle. 

Beyonce and Jay-Z got all decked out as Flo Jo and Tommie Smith

Beyonce went as Florence Griffith Joyner, an iconic track star, and Jay-Z dressed as Tommie Smith, who famously gave the black power salute at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Read More: Everything you need to know about Jay-Z and Beyoncé's real-life love story

Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas looked exactly like Morticia and Gomez Addams

It’s impressive how much they resemble the fictional couple.

Read More: Everything you need to know about Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas' love story

Skylar Astin and Anna Camp went as Richard Simmons and someone taking one of his workout classes

These two completely nailed it.

Ryan Seacrest and Shayna Taylor were super chic as Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour

Seacrest appropriately captioned his Instagram photo with "coming to a haunted haus near you."

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and husband Justin Mikita looked adorable as a beekeeper and a bee

They even dressed up their dogs to match. 

Lisa Rinna and husband Harry Hamlin stunned as Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol

The couple wore similar wigs. 

Joey Fatone and Izabel Araujo were impressive twins from "The Shining"

This costume choice never fails to please horror movie fans.

Mariah Carey and Bryan Tanaka took on two popular Halloween costumes as a nurse and doctor

Carey wore a pink wig. 

Ariel Winter and Levi Meaden nailed it as Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock

This was only one of the multiple costumes these two pulled off for Halloween.

Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber looked on point as Debbie Harry and David Bowie

Their outfits were amazing.

Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson went as Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger from the movie "Twins"

The two are hardly recognizable. 

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. looked great as characters from "The Royal Tenenbaums"

They definitely nailed it.

Matthew Morrison and his wife Renee Puente went as Ghostbusters characters

They even had their baby dressed up for this classic costume.

Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler looked great as Mario characters 

Cutler was dressed as Bowser and Cavallari was dressed as Toad. 

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