• Emotions shouldn't be pushed down.
• It's better to allow yourself to feel what you're feeling.
  
• Otherwise, they will boil over and show themselves later, with worse consequences.
• If you hide your emotions, it makes you afraid of facing them.
• In reality, they are useful for working out what we need to change.

If you put a lid on a boiling pot, eventually the contents will rise to the top and spill over. Human emotions are no different. If we push our feelings down and down and try to avoid them, eventually, they will explode out more fiercely than before.

This is one main reason people sometimes refuse to tap into their feelings, according to psychologist Perpetua Neo. She told INSIDER people can be over-rational, because they think the alternative is someone who cries all the time, is incredibly angry and erratic, and can't control themselves.

"When you ask somebody 'why can't you trust your feelings?' They'll tell you 'because last time I lost my temper, everything went to pot," Neo said. "Actually, it's this whole vicious cycle that happens when we oppress our feelings."

If we bottle things up, they don't just go away. Emotions will stay down until we physically can't contain them anymore, then they'll burst out fiercer than before. And it won't just be that one feeling, it will be everything else that's been thrown on top of it since. For some people, it can be years, or even decades, or repressed experiences.

"When it explodes you do things you regret," said Neo. "You spend too much money on things you don't like, you sleep with the wrong people you hate, things like that. And afterwards, you say it was your emotions that made you do it."

Read more: Being 'anti-fragile' in times of pain is just as important as being resilient — here's what that means

By blaming the emotions, we learn they are something to be scared of, and not to be trusted.

"The perspective shift would be working out how your emotions can play together with your rationality," said Neo. "That actually works much better."

Emotions shouldn't be terrifying in themselves. We evolved to have them for a reason. They're like our "first intel in a war," said Neo. If you listen to them, they can tell you exactly what you need to hear.

But you need to learn to respond rather than have a knee-jerk reaction, she added. You can do this by reframing the way you see emotions like anger, jealousy, and guilt, so you can identify areas of your life to change, instead of avoiding the pain. That way, you'll be able to have a hold over how you handle them much easier.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The science of why human breasts are so big

• The stock market is currently being hit from all sides by a series of headwinds, and it's been difficult for investors to figure out where their concerns and efforts should be focused.
• Jim Paulsen, the chief investment officer of Leuthold Group, explains why an equity bear market may be the only way to resolve the six main issues facing stocks.

Every time the stock market gets thrown for a loop, a great deal of energy is expended trying to identify the single theme that's driving the action. But that focal point has been a moving target for the past several months.

Some weeks, President Donald Trump's trade war is the lightning rod dictating investor activity. Other times the market is driven by fears about a flattening yield curve, and what it means for the prospects of an economic recession. And if the shiny veneer around tech stocks comes under any pressure whatsoever, you can bet some swift selling will be in order.

But one market expert thinks it's a foolish errand to try and elevate one market catalyst above all others. That would be Jim Paulsen, the chief investment strategist at Leuthold Group, who says the stock market has been so frustrating largely because there are so many concurrent forces whipsawing it.

Because there are so many factors capable of shaping the investment landscape, Paulsen says there's no easy catch-all solution for the stock market's recent woes. If one area is addressed, another pops up to take its place as the headwind du jour, opening a whole new series of issues.

To that end, Paulsen says that there's only one development that could finally wipe the slate clean — and it's not pretty. He's speaking about a bear market, which refers to a 20% drop in stocks. In his mind, such a crash may be a necessary evil if market is to regain its footing on a longer-term basis.

"The issues confronting stocks are numerous and most will likely remain periodically problematic for the balance of this expansion," Paulsen said. "Consequently, resolving 'problems aplenty' will not be easy. And, ultimately, it will be resolved by a bear market and a recession."

With that in mind, it's still helpful to recognize the myriad headwinds currently afflicting the market. Here's Paulsen's list of the six main impediments. All quotes are attributable to him.

1) Stretched valuations

"We examined several valuation measures suggesting significant risk for stocks including: a US post-war record high median trailing price/earnings multiple, a record high S&P 500 price/sales ratio, a record high US stock market capitalization ratio to nominal GDP, and the famed Case-Shiller CAPE P/E multiple trading at the 96th percentile of its entire history since 1881!"

2) Economy at full employment

"Historically, the stock market always does best when there is slack on Main Street. Since the economy returned to full employment in the last couple years, traditional 'full employment problems' have been evident for the stock market including Fed tightening, rising bond yields, and stronger inflation reports."

3) Federal Reserve monetary tightening

"For only the second time in this recovery and for the first time since 2010, financial liquidity growth has been contracting since the start of this year. Certainly, this has been a rude awakening for investors who, throughout this recovery, have feasted on a Fed-induced liquidity bull run!"

4) Low intra-market correlations

"A year ago, the intra-market correlation was still relatively high. However, this correlation has declined dramatically this year and is currently lower than 97% of the time since 1952. This low correlation does not bode well for future stock market returns."

"Since 1952, the average annualized forward 12-month S&P 500 total return has only been +4.88% when the correlation is in its lowest quintile!"

5) Volatility is too low right now

"Even though the stock market has suffered two 10% corrections this year, volatility across the financial markets has been remarkably low in the last year. Calm may be good for your heart, but not for future stock market returns. In stable financial markets, stocks struggle."

6) Plunging profit expectations

"Recent fundamental shifts now raise the possibility that 2019 earnings could decline which would likely be a shock for investors still basking in the glow of recent corporate performances."

SEE ALSO: Investors are staring at the bleakest future since the Great Depression — here's why one market bear thinks a crash could wipe 60% from stocks

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The legendary economist who predicted the housing crisis says the US will win the trade war

• There are avoidable but commonly made mistakes when it comes to choosing an engagement ring.
• According to bespoke jeweller Nikolay Piriankov, spending too much money actually isn't a good idea.
• He explained to INSIDER what people should avoid when picking a ring for their beloved.

When it comes to choosing an engagement ring for your partner, people often worry most about picking the right style.

Solitaire, halo, or trilogy design? Round, pear, or oval? Diamond or coloured stone?

The options are seemingly endless, and when it comes to design, it's entirely down to the person — no outsider can help you choose a ring for someone they don't know. 

Read more: How engagement rings have changed over the past 100 years

However, there are certain particularly common yet easily avoidable mistakes people make regardless of what style would be perfect for their beloved.

Nikolay Piriankov, founder of the bespoke jeweler Taylor & Hart, told INSIDER what mistakes are most commonly made, and how to avoid them.

1. Choosing the best colour and clarity diamonds.

If you can afford to, you might want to choose the most expensive diamond possible, but this actually isn't recommended by jewelers. 

"Going for the best colour and the best clarity diamond and paying the premium for that is a mistake," Piriankov said.

The reason for this is that the naked eye can't tell the difference between the very top colour and clarity, and the level below.

Diamond colour is measured on a scale from D to J, with D being the best, but unless you're assessing the diamond under 10x magnification, a G grade diamond will look the same as a D.

The top clarity grade is FL (flawless), going down to SI2 (slightly included, meaning there are some blemishes and marks). Piriankov recommends going for VS1 (very slight inclusions).

"You may pay for a D colour and an FL clarity, but your friend buys exactly the same size diamond with a G colour and a VS clarity, and to the naked eye you wouldn't be able to tell the diamond apart, but the other person has paid 40-50% less by not optimising on colour and clarity," Piriankov explains.

2. Requesting a super narrow band.

A very popular current style is extremely narrow bands — this is mainly because the thinner the band, the bigger the diamond looks. It also just makes for an elegant ring.

However, going too narrow is in fact an error. 

"Clients always want a dainty, thin band with as little metal as possible, it’s a trend at the moment," Piriankov says. "The problem with that is that metal, especially gold, will over the years wear away and eventually you're left with so little that it could even break.

"So it’s a balancing act between quality and longevity, vs making it look very petite and elegant. No one wants a chunky ring, you want as much contrast between the size of the diamond in the centre, and the metal."

In order to achieve this look, Taylor & Hart often taper the band and create a little pinch at the top where the band meets the diamond.

"This creates a beautiful contrast right at the end so you still have the strength of the ring around the bottom and the sides, but you can’t really see it," Piriankov explains. "Towards the top it narrows a bit to create the contrast between the centre diamond and the band."

3. Spending too much money.

You might think that your partner will be most impressed if you spend as much as you possibly can on the ring, but from Piriankov's experience, this isn't always the case.

Nowadays, couples get engaged later than they used to and they're often already living together, sometimes with a shared bank account too.

"This kind of expense [an engagement ring] is more of a household decision than it was when people weren’t living together already," Piriankov says. "You don’t want to spend too much so that your partner is almost annoyed you spent that amount."

The average amount to spend on an engagement ring in the UK is in fact £1,500 ($1,900), according to the jewellers.

"You can achieve something beautiful from as little as a few hundred pounds," adds Piriankov. "Little touches can add a lot of meaning, such as adding a birthstone on the inside of the ring or an engraving. Don’t be afraid to think about customisation or be creative with the design." 

• There's a big risk that a Parliamentary vote on UK prime minister Theresa May's Brexit deal won't happen on Tuesday.
• The Sunday Times reported that May will return to Brussels to try and renegotiate the most thorny aspect of her deal, the Irish backstop.
• The official line is that the vote will still happen.
• But senior Conservatives have said the deal in its current form is unacceptable, and May risks a collapse in government if she loses on Tuesday.
• Former Conservative minister Esther McVey told Sky News that May couldn't stay as leader if she loses.

An all-out political war has broken out ahead of the Parliamentary vote on UK prime minister Theresa May's Brexit deal on Tuesday.

MPs are scheduled to vote on December 11 on May's plan for a post-Brexit UK, agreed after months of talks with Brussels.

But there are conflicting accounts about whether the vote will go ahead on Tuesday, with The Sunday Times reporting that May intends to return to Brussels next week to negotiate a better deal. It is thought that MPs will overwhelmingly vote against May's deal, raising questions about her future as prime minister.

The report comes after a senior Conservative politician, Sir Graham Brady, publicly warned that the vote could be delayed, thanks to disagreement over a controversial aspect of the deal: the Irish backstop.

Read more: Here's why the Brexit 'backstop' is now the most important issue facing Britain

But Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay defended the current deal and said on Sunday the vote would go ahead on Tuesday as planned. Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr, Barclay said: "The vote is going ahead, and that's because it's a good deal, the only deal. We've got the vote on Tuesday, and there is still two full days of debate."

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, thought to be eyeing May's job, demurred. Also speaking to the BBC, he said May had to return to Brussels and implied the current deal was unacceptable.

He said: "If the prime minister is able to go back to Brussels next week and say, 'I'm afraid that the Irish backstop solution that you have come up with is very unpopular not just with the country but also with the house of Commons'.... then I think.... they will listen.

"What they want is the best possible deal with the UK."

Johnson added that the current backstop arrangement, which would lead to Northern Ireland being aligned to some EU rules, was "an absurdity."

"We can have a withdrawal agreement that does not contain the backstop," he said.

Former Conservative minister Esther McVey likewise piled in on Sunday, telling Sky News that it would be "very difficult" for May to remain leader if she loses Tuesday's vote. McVey refused to rule out a leadership bid.

May's position appears to be precarious. If, as is likely, she loses the vote on Tuesday, she may face a leadership challenge, or potentially even step down.  She may call a second referendum or a general election, though both would be desperate rolls of the dice.

May appeared to rule out this latter option in an interview with the Mail on Sunday, with a stark warning against Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

She said: "We have a leader of the Opposition who thinks of nothing but attempting to bring about a General Election, no matter what the cost to the country. As someone who cares passionately about my country and my party, I believe Jeremy Corbyn getting his hands on power is a risk we cannot afford to take."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A Harvard psychologist reveals the secret to curbing your appetite

• Sometimes you want to save a photo from Instagram without taking a screenshot.
• It's actually pretty easy using Google Chrome on a Mac or Windows PC.
• Here's how you do it. 

There are several ways to save Instagram photos you might want to refer to later. But if you want to download a full-resolution JPG version, and it's not your account, it gets a lot trickier.

Of course, this is by design — you didn't take the photo, so you probably don't have the copyright. Plus, Facebook, Instagram's parent company, would rather you save photos you like to its "Collections" feature.

There are several websites that allow you to download Instagram photos, but they're all unauthorized, and many have sketchy ads. Plus, they may potentially have malware and other shady tricks.

You can also take a screenshot of the Instagram post, but that results in a lower-resolution file. 

So, you can take it into your own hands, and figure out how to download full-resolution Instagram photos — for example, earlier this week I wanted a photo of my cat that I uploaded years ago to a novelty account (I had since lost the original image). 

Here's how you download Instagram photos in Google Chrome.

SEE ALSO: Here are the top iPhone apps and games of the year, according to Apple

Start by finding the photo you want to save. You'll need the web link, which is accessible from the button on the upper right corner of the photo.

On the desktop version of Instagram, that menu button is on the bottom right. 

Now, the URL for the photo is on your clipboard. In Chrome on a desktop computer, navigate to that URL.

You're going to need to look at the HTML source file for the Instagram page — don't worry, it's not that hard.

On Chrome, you'll find it in View > Developer > View Source. (Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari also allow you to view source.)

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

• Mouse pad surfaces affect how your mouse tracks. Soft pads increase drag for more precision and hard surfaces allow for quicker movements.

• The SteelSeries DeX's unique 3D texture reduces drag so your mouse tracking is fluid and responsive, but it's also soft for hours of comfortable use, virtually eliminating the trade-off between comfort and speed.

Most people probably don't think too much about mouse pads. Given modern mouse technology, this is actually quite understandable. Old-school ball mouses (remember those?) were barely usable without a good mouse pad, but the optical sensors on today's mouses are much more forgiving when it comes to working surfaces. As long as it's smooth and flat, it'll probably work.

Nonetheless, if you've ever used an optical mouse without a pad for an extended period of time, you've almost certainly realized what you were missing. A smooth, tactile surface is still a necessity — even with the greatly enhanced sensitivity and accuracy of optical mouse sensors — whether you're doing precise tasks like graphic design and gaming, or just tackling another long day of working on the computer.

Whereas ball mouses generally required a softer surface for traction, sensitive optical sensors have given rise to a growing number of mouse pad designs that offer different benefits. When it comes to pad surfaces, there's a general trade-off between speed and accuracy: Softer or rougher textures will create more friction than a hard, slick surface, allowing for more precision (as well as creating more drag), whereas a smoother mouse pad will allow for quicker movements (such as while playing a fast-paced video game, for example) at the cost of accuracy.

In other words: Your mouse will move faster on a hard/smooth surface, thus making it easier to make large cursor swipes quickly, and it'll move more slowly on a soft surface, thus giving you more precise control over your cursor. How much this matters to you really depends on your needs. Gamers are admittedly more fussy about this stuff than most people. Also note that softer mouse pads will naturally be more comfortable to use for long periods of time than hard ones.

Whatever your needs, we've covered just about all the bases below. These picks include everything from a no-nonsense budget-friendly mouse pad to ones featuring the latest innovations in surface design, so if you're looking to upgrade your setup or just replace an old worn-out mouse pad, then be sure to read through them all to see which one is right for you.

Here are the best mouse pads you can buy:

• Best mouse pad overall: SteelSeries DeX
• Best mouse pad with wrist support: 3M Precise
• Best oversized mouse pad: Glorious PC Gaming Race extended mat
• Best hard mouse pad: Corsair MM600
• Best budget mouse pad: SteelSeries QcK

Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.

The best mouse pad overall

Why you'll love it: With a unique 3D-textured surface that reduces friction despite its soft hand-feel, the SteelSeries DeX mouse pad solves the age-old problem of having to sacrifice comfort for responsiveness.

As mentioned the intro, you generally have to make a compromise between friction and comfort when selecting the right mouse pad for your needs. A soft mouse pad might be more comfortable, but it will create more friction on your mouse, requiring you to do more work to glide it around. A harder surface won't have that "give" to it, allowing the mouse and therefore the optical sensor to glide more freely, but it's less precise and will be harder on your wrist in the long run.

Our favorite, the SteelSeries DeX, reinvents the common mouse pad with a unique design that all but renders this dilemma solved. It has a unique 3D surface that is comfortable to use while reducing friction and increases your mouse's responsiveness. Instead of cloth or foam padding, the DeX is made of a soft rubberized polymer with a slightly raised texture. This results in a mouse pad that's easy on your hand and wrist, but the 3D surface greatly reduces the actual contact area between the pad and your mouse, thereby mitigating drag.

The soft pad material is also completely waterproof and fully washable, and the edges are heat-bound so the DeX won't fray like many cloth mouse pads do after while. The great design of the SteelSeries DeX comes at a price, though. At around $40, it's the most expensive of our picks.

It's nonetheless the closest thing to a perfect mouse pad that you can buy, and well worth the money. The durable polymer should last a long, long while, too. Don't be surprised if you see other companies copying the design of the DeX in the future.

Pros: The unique 3D texture reduces surface contact between mouse and pad for more fluid and precise tracking, the soft rubbery polymer is comfortable and waterproof, heat-sealed edges prevent cracking and fraying, and no obnoxious branding

Cons: It's expensive at around $40

Buy the SteelSeries DeX mouse pad on Amazon for $37.99 (originally $39.99)

The best mouse pad with wrist support

Why you'll love it: For wrists that need a little more comfort than a normal soft mouse pad can give, the 3M Precise mouse pad features a gel-filled wrist rest that provides some much-needed relief at a price that's just as easy on the wallet.

Unless you specifically want the increased movement speed of a hard working surface, then soft mouse pads are generally the best option for most people, especially if you're sitting at a computer for extended periods of time. Even a soft mouse pad can become uncomfortable after hours of use, though. Although the softer material might feel better on your hand, a flat pad still doesn't offer any real support for your wrist.

Mouse pads with padded wrist rests, like our pick from 3M, are a popular and simple way to solve the problem of wrist pain. A number of padded designs exist today, but the 3M Precise mouse pad has a few features that put it well ahead of the competition.

Firstly, the gel pillow's leatherette covering is softer and more durable than those of other ergonomic mouse pads. These typically have rubber- or cloth-covered gel pads that are more prone to cracking, pitting, leaking, or otherwise deteriorating over time.

Secondly, the 3M Precise mouse pad offers more than just increased hand comfort: This pad also features 3M's patented surface design that's purpose-built for optical mouses. This flat, micro-grooved layer sits on top of the soft non-slip base underneath, providing enhanced tracking for optical sensors. This results in smoother, more responsive cursor feedback compared to standard cloth-surfaced mouse pads, which haven't changed much since the days of ball mouses.

The 3M Precise mouse pad is cheap, too, and the model without the gel-filled hand rest was almost our "best budget" pick. This particular gel-padded design rings in at just $17, making it the second most affordable selection on our roundup and a great choice if you're on the fence about buying an ergonomic mouse pad and don't want to spend too much money to try it out.

Pros: Durable leatherette-covered gel-filled wrist rest for added comfort, the 3M Precise micro-grooved surface enhances optical mouse feedback, and it's highly affordable

Cons: The pad is prone to curling slightly at the edges over time

Buy the 3M Precise mouse pad with gel wrist rest on Amazon for $17

The best oversized mouse pad

Why you'll love it: If you're looking for an oversized desk mat to serve as a rest for both your keyboard and mouse, then the Glorious PC Gaming Race extended mouse pad has everything you need at a price point that's hard to beat.

Mouse pads have come a long way since the '90s, and not just in terms of surface designs and materials: They've grown in size as well. Oversized pads, often referred to as "mouse mats" to distinguish them from their smaller counterparts, serve a number of purposes: They give your hands and wrists a soft place to rest upon whether you're mousing or typing, prevent your keyboard from sliding around, and protect the surface finish of your desk.

Our favorite, the Glorious PC Gaming Race mouse mat, has everything we like. Its soft and tactile surface feels great and tracks beautifully, and unlike many other cloth mouse pads, this mat has a stitched frame around the edges that prevents warping and fraying.

The standard pad measures in at three feet long by 11 inches wide, giving you plenty of surface area for your keyboard and mouse, while its size and rubber base secure it in place on your desk. There are even larger options, too: the XXL and XXXL.

The mat's soft surface is an open fabric, so it will absorb dirt and anything you spill on it more readily than other designs. The Glorious PC Gaming Race mouse pad is washable, though, either by hand or in a machine on a gentle cycle (air drying is recommended), and keeping it clean is not a problem. Just know that it's going to require it at some point like any cloth mouse pad.

The Glorious PC Gaming Race extended mat is also a solid value starting at $24, which is a great price for something of this size and quality.

Pros: Soft and comfortable cloth surface, anti-slip rubber base, stitched edges prevent fraying, multiple sizes available for just about any desktop setup, and it's a great value at $24 for the standard mat

Cons: The non-sealed fabric collects dust and dirt more quickly than some others

Buy the Glorious PC Gaming Race extended mouse mat on Amazon for $23.99

• Amazon's cargo planes are poised to take market share from UPS and FedEx, Morgan Stanley said.
• The online retailer had leased 40 Boeing 767 cargo planes and invested aggressively in its first air-cargo hub.
• Amazon's air-delivery system could lead to as much as a combined 10% drop in revenue for UPS and FedEx.
• Watch UPS, FedEx, and Amazon trade live.

Amazon's cargo planes are poised to take market share from the logistics giants UPS and FedEx, Morgan Stanley says.

"The market is missing the risk Amazon Air poses to UPS/FDX growth," a group of Morgan Stanley analysts led by Ravi Shanker said Tuesday. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The legendary economist who predicted the housing crisis says the US will win the trade war

• Novartis' Sandoz expects to launch an EpiPen rival in the first quarter of 2019.
• A two-pack will cost $250, which is less than other EpiPen products. 
• Symjepi was first approved in mid-2017 and has had an unusually long path to market.

Drug giant Novartis' Sandoz division plans to launch an EpiPen rival in early 2019, marking an end in sight for the 17-month saga that has stretched since the product, Adamis' Symjepi, was first approved by U.S. regulators. 

With a price tag of $250 for a two-pack, Symjepi is priced less than other products in the allergic reaction treatment market.

Symjepi's price is "about 16.5% less" than Mylan's authorized generic EpiPen and a generic EpiPen product put out by Teva, Novartis said in a press release. The product is also set to launch amid an EpiPen shortage. 

But other factors may make competition tricky.

Symjepi, an emergency treatment for allergic reactions, consists of a syringe that is pre-filled with the rescue medication epinephrine.

Though it could be useful in medical settings like hospitals in particular, those with allergies who don't have medical training may be reluctant to inject a syringe themselves. 

Novartis' Sandoz plans to launch the higher-dose version of Symjepi, which is intended for those who weigh 66 pounds or more, in the first quarter of 2019. The lower-dose Symjepi, intended for patients between 33 pounds and 66 pounds, was just approved in late September. 

Read more:The strange history of the EpiPen, the device developed by the military that turned into a billion-dollar business and now faces generic competition between Mylan and Teva

In the health-care industry, it is rather unusual to have such an extended delay between a product's approval and launch. Drugs usually come to market in mere weeks or months after getting a nod from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

After failing to get approval from the FDA in 2015 and again in 2016, Symjepi was approved the following year. Many saw an opening for the product in the aftermath of a scandal around the escalating price of Mylan's EpiPen. 

The company then had an extended search for a commercial partner, frustrating investors, which culminated in a July partnership with Sandoz. 

Now, "with manufacturing completed, we are well underway to ensure appropriate supply of this life-saving medicine for healthcare professionals and patients in need of a new treatment option," Novartis said in a press release. 

• Read more:

• The strange history of the EpiPen, the device developed by the military that turned into a billion-dollar business and now faces generic competition between Mylan and Teva
• The CEO of $230 billion pharma giant Novartis explains why he's not scared of buying biotechs at an earlier — and riskier — stage

Join the conversation about this story »

•  AbbVie acquired the buzzy cancer drug Rova-T in a 2016 deal worth up to $10.2 billion.
• But the company just stopped enrolling a late-stage trial at an independent committee's recommendation because patients had shorter survival results on the drug.
• Wall Street had already been lowering its expectations for Rova-T earlier this year.

AbbVie bought the cancer drug dubbed "Rova-T" in a high-profile, up to $10.2 billion deal two years ago — a deal that is looking worse and worse as this year stretches on.

The latest evidence piling up against the drug came on Wednesday afternoon, as the pharmaceutical company disclosed that, in a late-stage trial, patients with lung cancer who took the drug stayed alive for a shorter time than those on the control arm, who were treated with standard chemotherapy.

AbbVie said that it will stop enrollment for the phase 3 trial, called TAHOE, which had been testing Rova-T as a second-line medication for advanced small-cell lung cancer.

In doing so, the company followed the recommendation of an independent Data Monitoring Committee, which applied only to the TAHOE study and not other Rova-T trials, AbbVie said.

The drugmaker is also testing Rova-T for other indications, including as a third-line small-cell lung cancer treatment, a first-line small-cell lung cancer treatment, and in neuroendocrine tumors.

Rova-T, also called rovalpituzumab tesirine, was developed to target a protein called DLL3 that is expressed in most small-cell lung cancer patient's tumors but not in healthy tissue, according to AbbVie.

The company bought Rova-T as the lead product of cancer-drug company Stemcentrx in 2016, highlighting the drug's potential alongside four other new compounds for diseases like breast cancer, ovarian cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.

The deal was valued at about $5.8 billion in cash and stock, with investors eligible for up to $4 billion more if the company met certain terms. 

Read more:AbbVie spent billions on a buzzy Silicon Valley cancer drug company. Now Wall Street's calling the deal a 'dud.'

But AbbVie already said earlier this year that it wouldn't try for faster-than-usual approval in one of those areas, third-line relapsed/refractory small cell lung cancer.

A data release in June also left Wall Street analysts less-than-impressed, Business Insider previously reported, though company executives said then that they remained encouraged about Rova-T's potential in small-cell lung cancer and other areas.  

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: NASA sent an $850 million hammer to Mars and it could uncover clues to an outstanding mystery in our solar system

• A new ranking from Wallet Hub listed the safest and least safe cities in America.
• The least safe cities missed the mark when it came to community safety, natural disaster risk, and financial safety.

Some cities in the US miss the mark when it comes to safety.

Personal-finance site Wallet Hub recently published its list of the safest and least safe cities in the United States, and the ones at the bottom of the list scored poorly in several key areas.

The ranking compared safety metrics in 182 American cities — the 150 most populated in the country, as well as 32 more to ensure that each state had two representatives on the list.

It assigned ratings to each city in 39 different safety metrics, broken down into three major groups and weighted for importance:

• The highest-weighted category was home and community safety, including the presence of terrorist attacks, number of mass shootings, and rates of murder, rape, theft, assault, and hate crimes
• The second most-weighted category was natural disaster risk, including the risk levels of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, hail, tornadoes, and wildfires (in some cities, data was unavailable in this category)
• The third most-weighted category was financial safety, including rates of unemployment, poverty, foreclosures, job security, fraud complaints, and identify-theft complaints

You can read more about the methodology here.

Read on to see which cities were deemed the least safe in America.

SEE ALSO: This map shows the US really has 11 separate 'nations' with entirely different cultures

DON'T MISS: 7 law-abiding citizens went undercover for 2 months at an Arizona jail — and learned the disturbing reality of life behind bars

17. Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky

Total score: 62.94

Home and community safety ranking: 133

Natural disaster risk ranking: N/A

Financial safety ranking: 28

16. St. Petersburg, Florida

Total score: 62.69

Home and community safety ranking: 110

Natural disaster risk ranking: N/A

Financial safety ranking: 122

15. Las Vegas, Nevada

Total score: 62.54

Home and community safety ranking: 167

Natural disaster risk ranking: 96

Financial safety ranking: 152

• CityMD cofounder Richard Park wanted to open up an urgent-care location in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York, but knew it would be a tough sell.
• In the end, CityMD lost more than $5 million, Park told Business Insider.
• Even so, the experience led CityMD to open more sites in lower-income areas of New York, and the Jackson Heights location is still open today.

Richard Park knew it was going to be a tough sell.

Park, the CEO and a cofounder of CityMD, wanted to set up an urgent-care site in Jackson Heights, an ethnically diverse neighborhood in Queens, New York, not far from where he grew up. The idea was to have a less expensive alternative to the emergency room where a mother with two kids under the weather could go.

Park didn't have any contracts lined up with Medicaid — the joint federal-state health program that provides coverage for low-income people — and he let his board know that he expected to lose money opening the clinic. But his employees were excited: many were from the neighborhood and didn't have access to CityMD clinics without traveling to other parts of New York City.

"It doesn't make sense when people don't get basic care," Park said. The clinic opened in 2014.

It was a big step: Before then, CityMD had set up urgent-care clinics in more affluent neighborhoods, like the Upper East Side of Manhattan and out in the suburbs. The new location started under a different brand name, HEAL, short for Health, Education, Access and Love.

"Everyone told us they can't coexist, you can't take care of billionaires next to the Medicaid patient," Park said.

Read more: The doctor who founded CityMD and sold it for $600 million explains how a new kind of medical clinic is changing how Americans get healthcare

In the end, CityMD lost north of $5 million at the location. But the pilot was a success. The site in Jackson Heights led CityMD to open locations in other lower-income areas of the city, including the South Bronx.

Since then, the company has managed to ink contracts with Medicaid health plans, and Park said about 15% of CityMD's visits come from patients who get their health coverage through Medicaid.

As for the Queens location? After six months, the clinic returned to the name CityMD, and it's still open today.

To date, CityMD has more than 100 locations in New York, New Jersey, and Washington state. And in April 2017, private-equity firm Warburg Pincus took a majority stake in CityMD in a deal that reportedly valued the urgent-care company at $600 million.

"We have sites in the South Bronx because of that experience," Park said. "You don't just go from the Upper East Side to the South Bronx. There is a learning curve."

Join the conversation about this story »

• Alto Pharmacy, a pharmacy that delivers medications in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and California's Orange County just raised $50 million to expand its reach.
• The funding comes from investors including Greenoaks Capital, Zola Capital, and Jackson Square Ventures.
• The plan is to use it to expand Alto's geographical presence and to go deeper into caring for particular conditions such as HIV.

A pharmacy that wants to deliver prescription drugs and help manage chronic diseases just raised an additional $50 million.

The San Francisco-based Alto Pharmacy, which uses couriers to deliver medications from its brick-and-mortar locations, said Wednesday that it had raised the funding from investors including Greenoaks Capital, Zola Capital, and Jackson Square Ventures, bringing its total raised to $73 million.

Alto CEO Matt Gamache-Asselin told Business Insider the funding would be used for three purposes: expanding geographically; broadening the conditions the company could help patients manage; and running clinical trials to validate whether the startup's approach could improve patients' health.

It's a goal other pharmacists are exploring as well. Business Insider has spoken with pharmacists who, under pressure from retail pharmacies and players like Amazon, have gotten creative and are looking to get paid for providing healthcare to their customers, rather than solely for the pills they dispense.

Here's how that works for Alto: Doctors can send prescriptions to a retail pharmacy or to Alto. From there, Gamache-Asselin said, the company has built software to see whether more affordable alternatives are available. Alto hopes that identifying cheaper medications will make patients with chronic conditions — such as HIV — keep taking them, thereby keeping patients healthy and saving health plans money.

Read more:Amazon is threatening the future of independent pharmacies. Here's how they're fighting back.

Gamache-Asselin said Alto was already working with some health insurers, though he declined to disclose which ones. In June, Alto brought on an Amazon alum, Scott Shaw, as its vice president of care to head up that operation.

Delivery medications

Alto, which was founded in June 2015, isn't alone in the business of prescription delivery via couriers. Others, including the New York City-based Capsule, which has raised $70 million in funding, are taking a similar approach to getting folks their medications. Independent pharmacies as well as retail giants like CVS Health have also been exploring ways to deliver medications to people at home.

Right now, Alto can send out couriers to about a 50-mile radius from its pharmacies in San Francisco as well as Los Angeles and the neighboring Orange County. It's also planning to launch into mail-order services.

In July, analysts at Bernstein identified Alto as a likely acquisition target for companies such as Walmart, CVS, or Amazon.

Amazon in June acquired the online pharmacy PillPack, launching it into the prescription-drug business. PillPack mails prescriptions that are packaged together based on when they need to be taken, putting it in a good spot to handle prescriptions for elderly people who tend to have more prescriptions. That could still leave room for Amazon to pick up another pharmacy startup that has a more on-demand approach.

• Read more:
• Meet the 30 healthcare leaders under 40 who are using technology to shape the future of medicine
• The doctor who founded CityMD and sold it for $600 million explains how a new kind of medical clinic is changing how Americans get healthcare
• The CEO of $230 billion pharma giant Novartis explains why he's not scared of buying biotechs at an earlier — and riskier — stage
• The man who predicted that Amazon would buy Whole Foods now expects the tech giant will soon be the world's fastest-growing healthcare company

Join the conversation about this story »

• The longest bull run in US stock-market history is on its last legs, at least in the view of a team of technical analysts at Societe Generale.
• The team says Elliott Wave Principles point to a stock-market top that will produce a "deep and prolonged correction."
• Wall Street strategists are mostly bullish for 2019, with an average year-end price target of 3,052.

The longest bull run in US stock-market history is on its last legs, according to one Wall Street bank.

"In our view, the bullish cycle that began in 2009 is ending," Societe Generale's technical team, led by Stéphanie Aymès, said in a note sent out to clients on Monday.

"Precisely, the famous wave 5, i.e. the last wave of the cycle according to Elliott Wave Principles, has met its key objectives on the S&P500 and Nasdaq. The occurrence of bearish divergences on long-dated indicators and possibly the beginnings of bearish reversal patterns (Head and Shoulders) suggest that the US equity indices may be topping out and that a distribution phase is commencing."

The Elliott Wave Principles identify up-and-down trends in the market using the assumption that human behavior moves markets in identifiable cycles, especially as traders act like a herd. What goes up eventually comes down. A complete cycle has eight waves — the first five (numbered one through five) are the impulsive waves, while the last three (labeled A, B, and C) are the corrective waves.

The S&P 500 has seen nearly 10 years of gains after bottoming out in March 2009. Along the way it has experienced six corrections— or declines of at least 10%, and a few more close calls — but what is about to transpire has the looks of something bigger.

According to Soc Gen, the recent halting of bullish momentum just shy of the initial target for the fifth and final wave of the cycle (just shy of 3,000) resembles what happened just before the sharp sell-offs in the first quarters of 2016 and 2018. The selling that ensued erased 25% to 30% of the previous up move, and that is what Societe Generale thinks will most likely happen here. When support breaks down, expect a "deep and prolonged correction," the bank said, without giving a specific target.

Soc Gen's call goes against the grain of what most of the other Wall Street banks are saying. Strategists surveyed by Bloomberg are expecting the S&P 500 to close out next year at 3,052 — about 9% above where it ended Monday. But that's not to say that everyone is on board with the idea of a higher stock market in 2019.

Read more: 'It ends next year': What Wall Street's biggest firms are forecasting for the stock market in 2019, and where they say you should put your money

The Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson, who has been warning of a "rolling bear market" all year, thinks most of the declines have already occurred, with the market having fallen by as much as 11.47% from its September peak.

"The Rolling Bear market is now better understood by the consensus; and more importantly, it is better priced, with forward P/Es falling 18% from peak to trough," he wrote in a recent note. "In short, while 90% of the price damage has been done by this bear, we've likely only served 50% of the time."

Wilson says that there is more than a 50% chance of a modest earnings recession in 2019 but that the market should look past that as the Federal Reserve pauses its interest-rate-hike cycle in the middle of next year. He has a 2019 year-end S&P 500 target of 2,750 — just above its current level.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 6 airline industry secrets that will help you fly like a pro this holiday season

• The US is a huge, diverse country, and the characteristics of its states vary widely.
• We calculated how from average each state landed on 38 demographic, social, and economic indicators including marriage, education, and income.
• Business Insider has also ranked states by the most dangerous place to work, pinpointed the most expensive college in every state, and zeroed in on the most exciting — and boring — hometowns in each state.

The US is a huge, diverse country, and the characteristics of the states that make it up vary widely.

We used 38 demographic, social, and economic indicators that cover several aspects of American life, mostly from the US Census Bureau's recently released 2017 American Community Survey estimates.

We looked at how far away each state was from the average of each of those metrics among the states and Washington, DC. Adding those distances together, we found an overall "averageness" score for each state and DC.

Read more:See our method and detailed sources for this ranking

Here's all 50 states and DC, ranked from least to most average, along with some of the metrics for which they were outliers or average.

SEE ALSO: Here's how much the typical millennial, Gen X, and baby-boomer worker earns in every US state

51. Washington, DC

What's average: The 90.2% of residents of DC with at least a high school diploma was very close to the average share among the states and DC of 89.5%.

What's not average: The nation's capital is demographically and economically very different from the rest of the country, largely because it's a city with no suburban or rural areas. For example, DC's median age of 34.0 years is much lower than the average of 38.4 years, and its median household income of $82,372 was the highest in the country.

50. Hawaii

What's average: About 92.1% of households in Hawaii have access to at least one car, right in line with the average rate of 92.2% among the states and DC.

What's not average: Hawaii's median home value of $617,400 was the highest in the country, and, perhaps not surprisingly, the 9.3% of Hawaii residents who self-identified as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander was by far the largest share among the states and DC.

49. California

What's average: California's poverty rate of 13.3% was just above the average rate of 13.1% among the 50 states and DC.

What's not average: California's median gross monthly apartment rent of $1,447 was the third-highest in the country. Only 83.3% of California residents had at least a high school diploma, the lowest rate among the states and DC.

• The Eurostar is the high-speed train that links London to European cities including Paris and Amsterdam.
• On a recent weekend trip to Paris, I checked out Eurostar's newly revamped lounge for Business Premier passengers at London's St. Pancras International.
• It was pretty luxurious — and even had a free cocktail bar with its own brand of gin.

The Eurostar, the high-speed train that links London to European cities such as Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Marseille, France, is arguably one of the best ways to travel — especially in business class.

Passengers traveling in this cabin, called Business Premier, are treated to express check-in and complimentary drinks and fine dining on board and given access to a lounge that was recently given a shiny new cocktail bar.

Read more: I drank at the best bar in the world, and I was surprised by one thing

Before a recent weekend trip to Paris, I checked out the new business lounge at London's St. Pancras International.

Here's what it's like inside.

SEE ALSO: I've lived in London for 5 years — here are the 50 places where you should actually eat

The Eurostar, the high-speed train that links London to European cities including Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Marseille, is arguably one of the best ways to travel — especially in business class, where the experience starts before you even get on board.

After getting through security and passport control, Business Premier passengers can turn right for the brick-exterior entrance to the two-floor business lounge.

The first floor is sleek and stylish, with glass, exposed brick, and blues and grays.

• Chicago Booth Business School professor Luigi Zingales believes that President Donald Trump is fundamentally altering the face of American capitalism.
• Trump's embrace of so-called "crony capitalism" could lead to a permanent shift in how American politics functions.
• "It's like when everyone waits in line to get the bus, or the ski lift, or to go to the office ... If one person deviates, you yell at him. If two deviate, you yell at them. If three deviate, you join them." 
• In 2011, Zingales wrote a book in which he predicted the rise of a Trump-like figure in American politics, citing the success of Silvio Berlusconi in his native Italy.
• The chapter of the book discussing that possibility was never published as colleagues said the idea was so far-fetched it would damage Zingales' reputation.

A widely respected economist who predicted the rise of Donald Trump as early as 2011 believes that by the time Trump's time in the White House is over, the face of American capitalism may be fundamentally altered forever.

Speaking to Business Insider in October, Luigi Zingales — a professor of entrepreneurship and finance at Chicago Booth Business School, whose work focuses on crony capitalism — said that Trump's willingness to appoint friends and allies to positions of power, particularly in the judiciary, has the potential to entirely shift how American politics functions.

Zingales, an Italian, has frequently compared Trump to four-time Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, says what is likely to happen if Trump continues along that path is similar to what occurs in his native land — politicians of all stripes trying to influence people in positions that are meant to be free from political interference like judges and central bank governors.

In Italy, Zingales says, the probability senior members of the judiciary being leaned on by politicians prior to making important rulings is "100%."

In the USA, such attempts would be considered highly unusual, but President Trump's outspoken criticism of both the Mueller probe and the activities of the Federal Reserve under Chairman Jerome Powell is beginning to normalize such behaviour.

Read more: An alarming slowdown in global trade shows Trump's tariff war is having a devastating impact

"If I expect that the other side is going to try to get to the judge [and influence his decision], I will also try to get to the judge," he said.

If it were to become truly normal, Zingales said, that would be very difficult to reverse. What could happen, Zingales said, is much like people standing in line waiting for a bus. 

"It's like when everyone waits in line to get the bus, or the ski lift, or to go to the office. As long as everybody is in line, you don't like it, but you join the line as well.

"If one person deviates, you yell at him. If two deviate, you yell at them. If three deviate, you join them. At some point, if everybody goes, you can't be the only idiot still waiting in line."

Whether such institutionalized changes to the workings of American politics stick will depend, Zingales said, on how long Trump is president.

"What remains to be seen is to what extent this can be seen as an aberration, and then the world returns to a normal situation moving forward, or to what extent this is a permanent shift in the way politics is run in the United States, and the way people perceive it," he said.

The impact of such changes is likely to be much more long-lasting if Trump is reelected in 2020, and serves a full eight years in the White House.

"The negative impact is very dependent on this," he said. "My suspicion is that once people develop a reputation, it's very hard to go back."

"Once you shift the game, changing back ain't easy," he added.

Zingales' words are particularly powerful given that in 2011, he wrote a book in which he predicted that Trump, or someone very similar could end up as president. The chapter focusing on that possibly was never published after Zingales showed the book to a colleague.

"One of my colleagues who was kind of enough to read the first version told me that I was crazy, that I would lose credibility to the book if I were to keep that in,"he said in a 2017 interview with Business Insider. 

SEE ALSO: Trump keeps bashing the Fed, calling the central bank 'loco' and 'crazy.' An ugly economic lesson from the Nixon administration shows why his criticism is so worrying.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The true story behind the name 'Black Friday' is much darker than you may have thought

• Sen. Angus King said Sunday that new court filings on President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn were "the most troubling" recent development in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
• Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press, King said prosecutors' recommendation of no prison time for Flynn, who provided early and extensive cooperation, means he provided enough significant information to spell trouble for Trump. 
• Flynn met 19 times with the special counsel and provided information that was redacted from his sentencing memo. 

Sen. Angus King said new court filings on President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn were "the most troubling" recent development in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian involvement with Trump's 2016 campaign and election. 

Speaking on Sunday's "Meet the Press," King said prosecutors' recommendation of no prison time for Flynn, who provided early and extensive cooperation, means he provided enough significant information to spell trouble for Trump. 

"The filing last week that should be the most troubling to the White House weren't the ones made on Friday, but the ones made with regard to General Flynn earlier in the week," King said, referring to separate filings, one of which recommended "substantial" prison time for Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and longtime fixer. 

King, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that "Robert Mueller felt that [Flynn's] cooperation has been of such an extent that he recommended no jail time," which apparently caused Mueller to give Flynn "a kind of prosecutorial pardon, if you will." 

King went on to point out Flynn's potential for providing extensive information about Trump's campaign, that included "nineteen meetings with the special counsel, and a lot of redacted pieces in the filing that was made last week."

"That's the one I think that really raises some very difficult questions that go to the heart of the question of whether there were relationships between the Trump campaign, President Trump, and the Russian government during the campaign in 2016," King said. "Flynn was, as they say in Hamilton, in the room where it happens."

Read more: Mueller sent a clear message — and a warning — with Flynn's sentencing memo

The sentencing memo for Flynn claims he lied in a 2016 FBI interview about what he said to the Russian ambassador regarding sanctions. Trump's former aide also made false statements to the Department of Justice about his contact with Turkey.

The memo reads: "When the FBI interviewed the defendant on January 24 about his interactions with the Russian ambassador, the defendant falsely stated that he did not ask the Russian ambassador to refrain from escalating the situation in response to the sanctions, and falsely disclaimed any memory of his subsequent conversation with the ambassador in which the ambassador stated that Russia had acceded to the defendant's request."

Trump fired Flynn, who was on the job for just 25 days, in February 2016, citing an "evolving and eroding level of trust" after the former national security adviser lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his interactions with Kislyak.

Sean Spicer, who was then the White House press secretary, said at the time the firing was "not based on a legal issue, but based on a trust issue." 

Flynn is due to be sentenced December 18, 2018.

SEE ALSO: Trump says he wants Michael Cohen to receive a 'full and complete sentence' and goes on raging tweetstorm about Mueller

DON'T MISS: Trump lashes out on Twitter after James Comey's testimony: 'All lies!'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn't a nationalist: 'He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists'

• After two and a half years, Pokémon Go players will finally get the ability to challenge other players to Pokémon battles. 
• The update will literally change the game: It introduces a revamped battle system that lets Pokémon learn a third attack, introducing a whole new layer of strategy. 
• The fights themselves will let trainers take a team of three Pokémon into battle, with otherwise hard-to-find items as a possible prize for the victor.
• To start a battle, you'll generally need to be close enough to your would-be opponent to scan a QR code on their phone — a mechanic designed to encourage real-world interaction.
• Here's how it all works.

Last week, developer Niantic teased that Pokémon Go players will soon be able to battle their fellow Pokémon trainers — a feature that's been in hot demand since the game first launched in the summer of 2016. 

On Tuesday, Niantic announced its first feature, including the key detail that trainers will take teams of three Pokémon into battle with them.

It's not immediately clear when, exactly, this feature will start rolling out, though Niantic says that it's slated for launch before the end of the year. In the past, it's rarely taken Niantic long after the announcement to begin the rollout of new features, though it often brings the new features to high-level players first, before fully rolling out the changes.

What is clear is that the addition of player-versus-player (PvP) battles is slated to completely change the game. And I mean that literally: Among many other things, the trainer battle update will add the ability for your Pokémon to learn a third attack, beyond the two that they already know. The game's battle system itself is getting tweaked slightly, such that you're rewarded for tapping rhythmically to charge up certain attacks in combat.

Much of it builds on the game's new social features, which were introduced a few months ago alongside the also-much-requested Pokémon trading feature. While you can battle strangers, there are a few advantages to fighting your friends. 

Here's how Pokémon Go trainer battles will work:

SEE ALSO: This is how Pokémon trading works in Pokémon Go

The first thing you gotta know is that Pokémon Go battling is sorted into leagues. When you challenge another trainer, you decide ahead of time which league's rules you'll fight under.

Different leagues have different caps on the strength of the Pokémon you can use to battle. The highest-level league, the Master League, takes off (almost) all the limits: You can use any Pokémon, at any level, including so-called Legendaries.

The one caveat are that you can't use Ditto or Shedinja, two weird cases in the larger Pokémon canon, in any kind of player-versus-player battles, including Master League. 

If you want to battle another trainer, you'll use your phone's camera to scan their unique QR code. You'll only be able to battle remotely with your Ultra Friends and Best Friends, as a perk for IRL besties.

• On Tuesday at Business Insider's IGNITION conference, Salesforce Chief People Officer Cindy Robbins shared the story of how her company became committed to equal pay for its employees.
• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff was initially surprised by Robbins' request, but ultimately he agreed. 
• Over the last three years, Salesforce has paid around $8.7 million to close its gender pay gap.
• "Unless you have flawless systems and flawless processes, you're going to have to run the audit every single year," Robbins explained. "This was not a one-and-done thing."
• Robbins says Salesforce's effort around equal pay is a call to action for other companies to start doing the same.

On Tuesday at Business Insider's IGNITION conference, Salesforce President and Chief People Officer Cindy Robbins shared the story of how the cloud software company became committed to equal pay for its employees. It's a story that she first brought to the public's attention on 60 minutes earlier this year. 

Robbins said it started around 2014, when CEO Marc Benioff held his quarterly meeting with 60 to 70 top executives at Salesforce — and realized there were hardly any women in the room. Benioff knew there were strong female leaders within the company, and decided that moving forward. at least 30% of attendees to that meeting would be women. 

"He gave us a seat at the table," Robbins remembers. "Our job was to stay invited to those meetings — which we did." 

Read more:Match Group's CEO audited the company's payroll to make sure she was paying women equally and was surprised at the results

Robbins rose the ranks at Salesforce and became the head of human relations — or officially, Chief People Officer. Soon after the promotion she starting thinking: "Why isn't easier for women to elevate at Salesforce?" 

Here's the story of how Salesforce became a company committed to equal pay, as shared at Business Insider's IGNITION conference:

Robbins (second from the right) teamed up with Leyla Seka (far right), an executive VP, and formed a list of how to help women grow in their careers at Salesforce. Equal pay was a concept they could not ignore. Robbins and Seka met with Benioff and — without any data — said they wanted to investigate whether Salesforce had a pay gap between men and women.

Benioff was surprised at the request given the efforts he and his team had made to make Salesforce a place of equal opportunity and benefits. But ultimately he agreed and supported the initiative. 

Since an audit like this had never been conducted at Salesforce, Robbins and Seka had first to assemble a team of internal and external experts and define their methodology. They then assessed all of Salesforce's some 30,000 employees and made the necessary adjustments to their compensation to close the gap.

• Barbara Corcoran was a real-estate mogul before she became a judge on "Shark Tank."
• As the head of The Corcoran Group, which she sold in 2001 for $66 million, Corcoran ran a "mean and lean" business by not being scared to fire underperformers.
• She explained at IGNITION why she relished firing 25% of her sales staff every year. 

When Barbara Corcoran headed The Corcoran Group, her New York real-estate firm, she secretly loved Fridays — but not for the reason you might think.

That was the day Corcoran fired underperforming salespeople.

"I couldn't wait to say to someone in the sales area, 'Hey do you have a few minutes for me on Friday?'" Corcoran said at Business Insider's flagship conference IGNITION. 

It might sound cruel, but Corcoran explained that getting rid of weak employees was an important way to keep her business strong. In fact, she fired a quarter of her sales staff every year. 

"I just loved Fridays," Corcoran said at IGNITION. "It was like — do you ever call in sick from work one day and stay home and clean your whole apartment really well, and how good that feels? That was every Friday of my life, that was the way it was. I started Monday fresh as a button."

Read more:Barbara Corcoran asks a simple question on 'Shark Tank' to quickly understand if a business partnership will succeed 

Along with the fact that she simply couldn't keep subpar workers on the payroll, Corcoran said keeping underperformers on staff can cause personnel issues. Top salespeople aren't likely to respect a company where underperforming salespeople are able to stick around.

To ensure that standards were high at The Corcoran Group, she told new hires that, in order to stay on the team, everyone was required to make one sale in their first three months.

"What actually happened is that people got ready to fire themselves because they knew what the requirement was," Corcoran said at IGNITION. "We ran mean and lean because of our clarity of hiring and our clarity of firing."

The Corcoran Group otherwise had high retention rates. Corcoran previously told Business Insider's Alyson Shontell that she kept company morale up by fostering a workplace culture in which employees cared for each other. 

"I did what my mother did," Corcoran said previously. "I adored my children ... I pushed them forward, got them to believing they could do a lot more than they were doing. And they did! Because people don't really know what they're capable of."

And one key way she cared for her employees was by ensuring that underperformers and "complainers" didn't stay for too long in the company.

"One negative person will take the energy out of 15 great people quietly," she said.

SEE ALSO: The creator of the 'Bloomberg for the trucking industry' reveals why being based in a city in Tennessee played such a crucial role in his company's success

DON'T MISS: A Silicon Valley CTO says the skills he'll make sure his children learn to enter the workforce have nothing to do with tech

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 6 airline industry secrets that will help you fly like a pro this holiday season