• Bristol-Myers Squibb said on Thursday that it would acquire the biotech Celgene in a $74 billion deal.
• The two companies each face their own strategic problems, and Wall Street analysts questioned whether a combination would produce solutions.
• A person familiar with the deal told Business Insider that it was intended to lower each company's risk.

Bristol-Myers Squibb's $74 billion acquisition of the biotech Celgene is the biggest deal not just of 2019, but ever in the pharmaceutical sector. But investors are asking whether the unexpected combination will help the two companies confront the big challenges they're facing.

In a conference call on Thursday morning, the companies repeatedly described the deal as a unique, complementary opportunity. They said it would make the combined company a leader in treating cancer, inflammation, and heart disease.

"I would view it as there was one company" that Bristol-Myers Squibb was going to acquire, its chief financial officer, Charles Bancroft, told Business Insider.

Paul Biondi, a senior vice president, agreed, adding, "It's always been Celgene."

The two companies are both major players in the industry and have similar strategies. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene have each sought to carve out disease areas that they can dominate with treatment options and make a profit from. But they are also facing questions about whether they can pull it off, especially because some of their key treatments are facing new competition.

Bristol-Myers Squibb's shares tumbled more than 13% after the deal was announced, and analysts peppered the company's executives with tough questions on the call.

"We are surprised that this deal occurred," said Alethia Young, a Cantor Fitzgerald analyst. "We are also interested that Celgene wasn't acquired for more."

The deal valued Celgene at $102.43 a share, while Cantor Fitzgerald's base expectation for a target price was $100, Young said. Celgene shares, which had dropped over the past three months, surged 26% on Thursday morning, to about $83.91.

JPMorgan was the lead financial adviser to Celgene, while Morgan Stanley was the lead financial adviser to Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Investors surveyed by the Mizuho analyst Salim Syed expressed skepticism about the deal. Of about 100 people who responded, more than 50% said they were not happy with the news.

Including debt, the deal is the largest ever in pharma, topping even Pfizer's 1999 acquisition of Warner-Lambert and last year's Takeda-Shire deal, according to Bloomberg News. If the deal goes through, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene will go from the 13th- and 21st-biggest biopharma companies by revenue to the seventh-largest, according to an Informa Pharma Intelligence analysis.

Facing competition for some of its most reliably profitable products, Celgene has struggled to develop new drugs to take their place. Meanwhile, Bristol-Myers Squibb has faced challenges in its effort to become a leader in lung cancer drugs.

Reducing each company's reliance on a limited number of drugs was the intent of the acquisition, a person who worked on the deal told Business Insider.

The two companies began their discussions in September, though they had had other conversations before, and there was a clear fit, the person said.

"Each of the two companies had a little too concentrated risk, and this lowers that," the person said. "Too much riding on too concentrated a set of things. Now that's broader."

Analysts pressed the companies' leadership about those risks during the Thursday call.

They asked about the deal's timing, given that Bristol-Myers Squibb has several upcoming releases of new trial results for its key cancer drug Opdivo that could affect the drug's prospects, as well as about expectations for the cancer drug Revlimid, a blockbuster product for Celgene that is set to face competition.

In response, Bristol-Myers Squibb CEO Giovanni Caforio described a leading presence that the combined company would have in oncology, with products that treat both solid tumors and cancers in the blood.

He also emphasized the new drugs that the deal would add to Bristol-Myers Squibb's pipeline.

"We now have six near-term launch opportunities, and I stress the term 'near-term' — a number of those are imminent files that are going to be submitted to regulatory authorities," Caforio said. "I think about Revlimid as a really important product, a foundation on which we can maintain leadership in hematology, but this deal is not about Revlimid."

The timing of the deal was even strategic, Biondi told Business Insider on Thursday, building "upon incredibly strong events in our business."

"The opportunities to do these things are often quite small because a lot of things can change," he added.

Related: Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene said their huge merger has about $2.5 billion in synergies. That should make employees nervous.

The combined company could also try Celgene's cutting-edge cell therapies in combination with cancer drugs called checkpoint inhibitors, and test combinations of different drugs in autoimmune diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease, management said on the call.

More broadly, Caforio said, having a "critical mass" across different types of diseases will be important no matter what happens with US health policy, improving the company's position in negotiations with health insurers and employers.

Join the conversation about this story »

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• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that New York City's L train would not shut down for 15 months as planned.
• Cuomo said that the city would be using a technology that has been used in Europe for tunnel construction in order to avoid having to fully close the line. 
• An expert from real-estate-listings site StreetEasy said he expects rental prices in the area to "rise sharply" as a result. Rents had previously dropped substantially when the L train shutdown was still set to take place. 

If the L train's impending closure and resulting tricky commute was discouraging you from moving to Williamsburg, news that it is staying open after all might actually be a bigger deterrent. 

On Thursday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the city's L train, which is one of the main transit connections between parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan, would no longer be closing for 15 months as previously planned, The New York Times first reported.  

Officials had said in 2016 that the L train would need to be shut down starting in April so that the MTA could repair flood damage left over from Hurricane Sandy. 250,000 people commute via the L train daily. 

Read more: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo axes plan to shut down the L Train, saves Brooklynites from commuting hell

Cuomo said that the city would be using a new technology that has been used in Europe for tunnel construction to avoid having to fully close the line. 

While this may come as good news to some residents of Brooklyn who were concerned over how they would be able to make the commute without the L train, the change in plan could drive up rental prices substantially. 

A recent report from real-estate-listings site StreetEasy indicated that landlords in Williamsburg — one of the areas impacted by the planned L train closure — had been slashing rents to entice new residents as others relocated. 

The monthly costs of 48% of Williamsburg apartments relisted on StreetEasy in June were lower than their rents two years earlier, with an average reduction of $250, the report showed.

Read more: The impending L-train apocalypse has rents in Williamsburg plunging

Rents in some buildings dropped by as much as $400. According to StreetEasy's analysis, the largest drop was at 44 Berry Street, where rents were down by $448 on average. The landlord for that building did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment. 

"Look for rents to rise sharply as many who thought they were forced to look elsewhere adjust to the new reality of minimal disruption,"StreetEasy's senior economist, Grant Long, said in a comment emailed to Business Insider on Thursday.

Long said that rents in North Brooklyn have fallen a cumulative 1.5% since the shutdown was first announced in April 2016, while rents in the rest of the borough have increased by a cumulative 3.3%.

For those who have already renegotiated their leases and secured cheaper rent in the areas that would have been affected by the shutdown, the announcement on Thursday should come as good news, Long said.

"Renters who have managed to negotiate deals in recent months have struck gold," he said. 

"I think some people got a very nice, happy new year gift; they got very lucky," Dave Maundrell, executive vice president of new developments for Brooklyn and Queens at brokerage firm CitiHabitats, told Business Insider on Thursday. 

Maundrell said that since these leases are legally binding, it's the landlords who are going to have to take it on the chin. 

He added that CitiHabitats informed its offices in the area on Thursday to stop offering concessions to apartment seekers, such as one to three months' free rent, until the company has spoken to landlords. 

"Concessions are probably going to get reduced quickly," he said. "And when leases expire, previous concessions are going to burn off without question." 

• Read more on the cancellation of the L train shutdown:
• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo axes plan to shut down the L Train, saves Brooklynites from commuting hell
• New York's governor just killed a plan to shut down one of the most crowded subway lines in NYC — and people are freaking out
• New York's governor called Tesla to see if the company could help fix NYC's subway system
• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo killed a controversial plan that would have caused commuting hell for thousands of people — but it's terrible news for people moving to the area
• People are slamming New York's governor for taking over 2 years to come up with a plan to avoid shutting down one of NYC's busiest subway lines

SEE ALSO: New York's governor just killed a plan to shut down one of the most crowded subway lines in NYC — and people are freaking out

Join the conversation about this story »

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• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that New York City will not shut down the L train subway tunnel for 15 months.
• The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the city's transit agency, announced the planned closure in 2016.
• Some Twitter users criticized Cuomo for taking over two years to introduce an alternative plan.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that New York City will not shut down the L train subway tunnel for 15 months. 

The city had planned to close the tunnel, which runs between Brooklyn and Manhattan, for 15 months beginning in April to repair two tubes located beneath the East River. The tubes received serious damage during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Read more: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo axes plan to shut down the L Train, saves Brooklynites from commuting hell

New York City will instead adopt a new technology previously used for tunnel construction in Europe. The technology, which was recommended by teams from Columbia and Cornell Universities' engineering schools, has not been used in the US.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), New York City's transit agency, announced the planned L train tunnel closure in 2016. The MTA and other government agencies, like the Department of Transportation, had been working on a plan for the L line's 250,000 daily riders to use buses and other subway lines during the closure. Some Brooklyn residents had moved from the borough in anticipation of the closure as rents declined in neighborhoods that would have been affected by it.

Some Twitter users criticized Cuomo for taking over two years to introduce the alternative plan. Here's what Cuomo's critics are saying.

Read more: 

• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo axes plan to shut down the L Train, saves Brooklynites from commuting hell
• New York's governor just killed a plan to shut down one of the most crowded subway lines in NYC — and people are freaking out
• New York's governor called Tesla to see if the company could help fix NYC's subway system
• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo killed a controversial plan that would have caused commuting hell for thousands of people — but it's terrible news for people moving to the area
• Lyft says it is 'optimistic' about Andrew Cuomo's solution to the L train shutdown after the ride-sharing service ran an ad campaign targeting stranded subway riders
   

SEE ALSO: New York's governor called Tesla to see if the company could help fix NYC's subway system

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• English soccer superstar David Beckham and Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer Victoria Beckham became one of the world's most famous power couples when they started dating back in 1997.
• Together, Victoria and David Beckham are worth a whopping $900 million — upwards of $300 million more than the Queen herself.
• The Beckhams' lavish lifestyle include spending on beautiful homes, luxurious vacations, and star-studded events.

Victoria and David Beckham have been dominating pop culture as Britain's "It" couple since they first got together in 1997.

Victoria — a former Spice Girl who built a fashion empire — has reportedly made a whopping $450 million in her career. Her husband has raked in a similarly astronomical amount of cash thanks to his incredibly successful soccer career and his endorsement deals across a spectrum of companies.

Naturally, the Beckhams — along with their four children — lead an incredibly lavish lifestyle featuring beautiful houses, expensive cars, luxurious trips, and star-studded events.

Check out how the Beckhams make and spend their millions below.

International soccer superstar David Beckham and Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer Victoria Beckham former a power couple when they started dating back in 1997.

And more than two decades later, the Beckham family — which includes, David, Victoria, and their four children — is the closest thing to British royalty outside of the actual royal family.

Source: Instagram

Together, Victoria and David Beckham are worth a whopping $900 million — upwards of $300 million more than the Queen herself.

Source: Elite Daily

• Ride-sharing service Lyft launched an ad campaign in December focused on New Yorkers seeking alternative transportation during the planned 15-month shutdown of the L train. 
• On Thursday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the subway line — used by roughly 250,000 commuters — would not be shutting down beginning in April as planned. 
• "We understand the acute pain the L train closure would have caused New Yorkers and are optimistic about Gov. Cuomo's plan to avoid a full shutdown," a Lyft representative told Business Insider.

Lyft is transitioning from looking to provide rides to stranded subway riders to supporting New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to prevent the L train from shutting down. 

On Thursday, Cuomo announced that the crowded subway line connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan would not shut down for 15 months as previously planned. 

"The simple fact is you have roughly 250,000 people who would need another way to get to work, have a tremendous impact on traffic," Cuomo said at the press conference. "15 months sounds like a really short period of time, but it's not if you're doing it one day at a time trying to get to work."

Read more:New York Governor Andrew Cuomo axes plan to shut down the L Train, saves Brooklynites from commuting hell

However, since 2016, these 250,000 commuters have been preparing for just that. And, a number of companies and organizations have been eager to help them find alternatives.  

One such company was the ride-sharing startup Lyft. In December, Lyft launched an ad campaign focused on the L train shutdown, including a website intended to help New Yorkers deal with the popular line's absence. 

"With the L train disruption, we want to make sure you always have an affordable, convenient, and reliable way to get where you're going,"the website reads, highlighting fixed pickup spots, a Williamsburg Bridge carpool lane, and a $299 all-access pass. 

Now, these efforts by Lyft seem to be pointless. However, in a statement to Business Insider, the company did not express any ill will towards Cuomo for the last-minute change of plans. 

"We understand the acute pain the L train closure would have caused New Yorkers and are optimistic about Gov. Cuomo's plan to avoid a full shutdown," a Lyft representative said in a statement. "We will continue to work with local, city and state leaders as their plans develop to ensure all riders are able to get where they need to while the necessary repairs are made."

• Read more on the L train shutdown solution:
• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo axes plan to shut down the L Train, saves Brooklynites from commuting hell
• New York's governor just killed a plan to shut down one of the most crowded subway lines in NYC — and people are freaking out
• New York's governor called Tesla to see if the company could help fix NYC's subway system
• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo killed a controversial plan that would have caused commuting hell for thousands of people — but it's terrible news for people moving to the area
• People are slamming New York's governor for taking over 2 years to come up with a plan to avoid shutting down one of NYC's busiest subway lines

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Smartphones have mostly eliminated the need for Walkmans, flip phones, and digital cameras.
• The original Game Boy and games like "The Oregon Trail" are no longer in production.
• VCRs and portable DVD players are a thing of the past thanks to streaming services.

In just a few decades, technology has gone from Walkmans that play cassette tapes to iPhones that play music and videos, make calls, connect to the internet, take photos, and perform countless other tasks.

The swift pace of progress means that some gadgets get left behind.

Here are 16 pieces of technology from the last 50 years that are no longer in use.

Sony Walkmans

This original portable music player was popular during the 1980s. The first model sold only 3,000 units in its first month of release in 1979. Clever marketing on the streets of Tokyo saved the personal cassette player, and sales soared the very next month. Sony stopped producing new Walkmans in 2010 after a successful 30-year run.

Pagers

Emergency services still use pagers since they're more reliable than cell phones during natural disasters, but they've otherwise vanished from popular use.

Motorola RAZR flip phones

The Motorola RAZR was released in 2004 and became the best-selling flip phone of all time with over 130 million sold over four years. The iPhone made it pretty obsolete — a 2008 report found that 23.8% of iPhone users had switched over from the RAZR.

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• Tablets and other mobile devices are extremely convenient when you want to visit your favorite website or stream video, but they don’t compare to laptops when it comes to getting real work done.
• The Acer Chromebook 11 doesn’t compare to the computing power of MacBooks or the Dell XPS, but it can run several programs at once allowing you to churn out content while streaming music or video.
• I especially like that the Chromebook seamlessly interacts with my Google account and Android phone so I can use any of my devices to easily access the documents I create.
• Though the Acer Chromebook lacks many of the whistles and bells of today’s fancier laptops, it gets the job done at a price that can’t be beat (currently $215 on Amazon).

With summer just around the corner, who wants to be cooped up in an artificially lit, stale-aired office completing a report, writing an article, or performing other tasks that can be done at a coffee shop or park? Thanks to research demonstrating that happy workers are more productive, companies are increasingly more open to employees working remotely. But, if you want your time away from the desk to be fruitful, you need a laptop.

When shopping for a laptop, your main consideration should be what you plan on using it for. If you want to perform graphic design work or DJ parties, you’re going to have to splurge on one of the more expensive models, such as a MacBook. However, if you’re a student, want something inexpensive to occupy your kids, or mainly work on a desktop computer and want a secondary option, the Chromebook is a cost-effective solution.

I picked up the Acer Chromebook 11 because I’m a freelance writer and roller derby player: I needed something small enough to toss into my skate bag so I could get some work done on the road. We bought the Acer Chromebook 15 about three years ago so I could work as we traveled the country. When our travels were complete, the Chromebook 15 was hooked up to our projector and appropriated as our main media player. I knew the Acer Chromebook 11 would be an excellent product, and more than 1,200 positive Amazon reviews agreed.

When you first unbox the Acer Chromebook, you are struck by the attractive, high-end look of it. The laptop only comes in "Moonstone White," which has somehow managed to avoid being sullied by my preschooler’s seemingly always dirty hands. The exterior textured, tactile pattern does an excellent job of keeping you from fumbling and dropping the device.

The Chromebook operates using the Chrome OS, which is quite similar to Windows, but I’ve found it is less glitchy than my Windows devices. And, unlike Windows, instead of having to shell out another $100+ for Microsoft Office, you have instant access to Google Docs. I personally prefer Office for my daily work, but you can’t beat how easy it is to share documents, collaborate with others, and access your work from any device with Google Docs.

The main issue I ran into with Google Docs was figuring out how to use it offline, a must when you are in the air or on the road and don’t have a hotspot. PC Mag provides a few simple steps for setting up Google Docs offline.

Though my family is forbidden from commandeering this laptop for media streaming purposes in order to avoid the fate of the Chromebook 15, I have been known to use it to catch up on my shows. The 11.6" HD ComfyView Widescreen has a 1,366 x 768 pixel resolution (16:9 aspect ratio). "ComfyView" is simply Acer’s fancy way of saying the matte screen is anti-glare. All of these factors make for great video viewing.

However, the audio leaves a bit to be desired. There are two built-in stereo speakers that tend to degrade in sound quality ever so slightly as you try to blast your jams. If this is unacceptable, I recommend connecting an external speaker. The laptop has HD audio support.

One of the most impressive features of the Chromebook 11 is its battery life. I have used it for 10-hour sessions without charging it. And, when the time comes to charge the 3-cell lithium-polymer battery, it takes about two hours to get back up to 100%.

For those of you into numbers and specs, I should tell you that the Acer Chromebook 11 features the Intel Celeron N2840 Dual-Core Processor. You can choose from 2GB of RAM or — for $10 more — you can get 4GB. There is 16GB of solid-state drive internal storage. The laptop has ports for USB 2.0, USB 3.0, HDMI with HDCP support, SD cards, and a headphone jack. And, the HD webcam has a 1,280 x 720 pixel resolution.

Overall, if you’re looking for an easy-to-use, compact laptop that can stream media, help you get some writing done while on the go, and is compatible with your Android devices and Google account, you can’t go wrong with the Acer Chromebook.

And, at a $230 price point, just about anyone can afford one.

Buy the Acer Chromebook 11 Laptop (2GB RAM) on Amazon for $215.57

Buy the Acer Chromebook 11 Laptop (4GB RAM) on Amazon for $239.50

SEE ALSO: The best laptops you can buy

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Many companies use the term artificial intelligence, or AI, as a way to generate excitement for their products and to present themselves as on the cutting edge of tech development.

But what exactly is artificial intelligence? What does it involve? And how will it help the development of future generations?

Find out the answers to these questions and more in AI 101, a brand new FREE report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, that describes how AI works and looks at its present and potential future applications.

To get your copy of the FREE slide deck, simply click here.

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• The rift between the Pittsburgh Steelers and star wide receiver Antonio Brown grows stranger by the day.
• After his mysterious absence from the Steelers season finale, reports came out that Brown's relationship with the team was strained, and he had skipped practice leading up to the game.
• According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, some close to the situation believe the conflict stems from Brown being snubbed as team MVP earlier in the week.

The rift between Antonio Brown and the Pittsburgh Steelers continues to look messy as more details emerge, and it now appears that Brown's odd Week 17 absence may have stemmed from being snubbed for a team award.

Brown was conspicuously absent from the Steelers season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals, a must-win game for Pittsburgh as they were fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive.

At first, it was reported that an injury had kept Brown on the sideline for the game, but as sources told Gerry Dulac and Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Brown had actually been absent due to a strained relationship with the team, including the Steelers star wideout refusing to practice or attend team meetings after a dispute with a teammate.

Read more: New report casts doubt on reason for Antonio Brown's absence from Steelers' must-win season finale

Brown reportedly "threw a football in anger at one of his teammates," prompting even more questions about what was happening between the Steelers and their perennial All-Pro. Further reporting from Mark Kaboly at The Athletic would conclude that Brown's incident at practice was with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, with Brown throwing a football at his feet and refused to practice for the rest of the week.

From there, things only escalated, with rumors swirling that Brown had requested a trade and numerous cryptic posts on social media that seemed to hint that his relationship with Roethlisberger and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin weren't all that well.

Read more: Things between Antonio Brown and the Steelers are spiraling amid reports of him going AWOL, rifting with Ben Roethlisberger, and requesting a trade

Now, according to Albert Breer at Sports Illustrated, some parties close to the situation are pointing to the fact that fellow wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster won the honor of team MVP for 2018 as the cause of the growing rift between Brown and the Steelers.

Brown had had his best game of the season against the New Orleans Saints in Week 16, just before the vote took place, going for 14 catches for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, the Steelers came up just short, losing to the Saints 31-28 and taking their postseason destiny out of their own hands.

"He was just frustrated," one source told Breer. "The MVP vote — it's those things that set him off. He was unreal in New Orleans, we still lost, and the vote comes out and it's JuJu. So he shows up for work, he's not voted MVP, he's in a bad way, and that carried over into the walkthrough."

Further frustrating to Brown is likely the fact that the team was positioned to kick a game-tying field goal late in the fourth quarter before a Smith-Schuster fumble handed the ball back over to the Saints to end the game.

Pittsburgh was still only a few plays away from making the postseason, and the team's 7-2-1 start to the year was proof that this iteration of the Steelers is capable of playing with the best teams in the NFL. That said, if the Steelers can't clear things up with Brown, the Pittsburgh offense might see quite a bit of shuffling before the 2019 season kicks off.

SEE ALSO: The 54 best sports photos of 2018

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• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez donned a white jumpsuit on Thursday to be sworn in as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. 
• The color white has been tied to women's political empowerment since the suffrage movement.
• Female politicians including Shirley Chisholm, Geraldine Ferraro, and Hillary Clinton have all notably worn white during key political events. 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's decision to wear a white jumpsuit to the opening session of the 116th Congress may have a hidden meaning.

On Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez donned a white jumpsuit to be sworn in as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. 

The connection between the color white and women's political empowerment has its roots in the suffrage movement.

In 1908, according to History.com, the Women's Social and Political Union picked three colors to represent the movement for women's suffrage: white for purity, purple for dignity, and green for hope. Women dressed in white became a symbol for the suffrage movement as they rallied and protested for the right to vote.

Since then, white clothing has reemerged as a symbol again and again as women have broken through the glass ceiling on many fronts in politics. 

Shirley Chisholm wore white when she became the first African-American woman elected to Congress, as well as during her 1972 presidential campaign. When Geraldine Ferraro delivered her acceptance speech as the first female vice-president candidate for a major ticket in 1984, she also wore white.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton donned a white pantsuit (a sartorial choice highly associated with the candidate) for the third presidential debate. Many Clinton supporters encouraged voters to #wearwhitetovote leading up to the 2016 presidential election. And, first lady Melania Trump wore an all-white pantsuit to the State of the Union address, which observers connected both to the suffragettes and to Clinton.

• Read more about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:
• Most Americans would rather spend the $5 billion Trump is demanding for the border wall on infrastructure, education, or healthcare
• Outgoing Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill dismisses Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a 'shiny new object' and says her 'rhetoric is cheap'
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed the media for talking up a 2020 White House run instead of her policy ideas
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other new House progressives are tweeting their dissatisfaction with orientation at Harvard

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• Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as Speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday. 
• As she took her oath, she invited her own grandchildren and all other children of Congress to join her at the podium. 
• She called the House to order "on behalf of all of America's children" and celebrated with the cheer "Go kids!"
• Pelosi also invited children to join her at the podium when she was sworn in as speaker in 2007. 

Nancy Pelosi invited her grandchildren and all other children of Congress up to the podium as she was re-elected as Speaker of the House on Thursday.

Dozens of kids and grandkids of Congress members then flocked to the podium as Pelosi took the oath.

"I now call the House to order on behalf of all of America's children. Go, kids! Go, kids! Go, kids," the Democratic lawmaker from California said as she was sworn in as Speaker of the House.

The oath was administered by Rep Don Young of Alaska, the dean of the House.

Pelosi made a similar move of inviting children to the podium in 2007, the first time she was sworn in as Speaker of the House.

Ahead of the oath, Pelosi's granddaughter could be seen celebrating as votes were cast for her grandmother to be re-elected as speaker of the House of Representatives.

Her granddaughter, Bella, hugged Pelosi as she spoke to lawmakers, and shouted "Pelosi!" when it was time for Pelosi to cast her own vote.

Read more:Nancy Pelosi elected speaker of the House, ushering in new Democratic majority

As Pelosi was sworn in on Thursday, she said she was entering the 116th Congress"with a sense of great hope and confidence for the future, and deep humility and prayerfulness in the face of the challenges ahead."

"As we take the oath of office today, we accept responsibility as daunting and demanding as any that previous generations of leadership have faced," Pelosi said in her first speech as speaker. "Guided by the vision and values of our Founders, the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform and the aspirations that we have for our children, let us meet that responsibility with wisdom, with courage and with grace."

• Read more:
• Democratic congressman to issue articles of impeachment against Trump on first day of new Congress
• This isn't the first time US Congress has been divided. Here's what to expect.
• Trump and Democrats dig in their heels as the partial government shutdown extends into the new year with no end in sight
• Trump mocks Elizabeth Warren’s presidential ambitions and claims of Native American heritage with meme

SEE ALSO: Trump rants about the government shutdown, stock-market 'glitches,' Tom Cruise, and more during wild Cabinet meeting

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• Bristol-Myers Squibb is buying biotech giant Celgene in a $74 billion deal.
• The deal combines a massive pharmaceutical company with a biotech giant, both of which have a big presence in the development of cancer drugs.
• BMS said it's expecting to realize $2.5 billion in "synergies" by 2022 — a term that should make employees of the two companies nervous.

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene started 2019 off with a bang, announcing plans on Thursday to combine in a $74 billion deal.

Celgene shareholders will be paid $50 and one BMS share per Celgene share, valuing Celgene at about $102.43 a share. The deal combines a massive pharmaceutical company with a biotech giant, both of which have a big presence in the development of cancer drugs.

In a news release announcing the deal, the companies used a word that should make BMS and Celgene employee nervous: "synergies." BMS said it expected to achieve $2.5 billion in synergies by 2022.

Read more: Bristol-Myers Squibb is buying Celgene in a $74 billion deal

Essentially, synergies is a fancy word for opportunities for cost cutting. It has to do with areas in which investment bankers or the firms involved in the deal have identified redundancies or opportunities to make the combined company leaner, thus saving on costs.

"This deal is really all about the launches, the pipeline, the value of the synergies," Caforio said on the call.

While synergies can also mean cutting redundancies in things like software and machinery, a large chunk of the savings typically comes from reducing the number of employees at the combined companies.

In a presentation to investors, the company gave several clues about where it's likely to cut costs. About 55% of the savings are expected to come from selling, general and administrative expenses, a catch-all that describes many of the functions that help a company run.

Another 35% will come from the research and development budget, including cuts to "overlapping resources."

Still, BMS's chief financial officer, Charles Bancroft, said the companies want to "retain talent, protect key value drivers and leverage the enhanced scale of the new company."

Bancroft told Business Insider that the company doesn't want to disrupt employees working on approval filings the respective companies have in front of the FDA during the integration process. 

"What we get in assets become future value drivers of the company," Bancroft said. 

You can see the full slide below:

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• Top healthcare bankers from Morgan Stanley and Bank of America see a slowdown ahead after a record year for deals and IPOs
• 16 billion-dollar startups revolutionizing healthcare that you should be watching in 2019
• Pharma giant GSK just made a $5.1 billion bet on a cancer-drug maker

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• Tesla cut prices on its vehicles by $2,000, setting off worries that it has a demand problem.
• But based on how few vehicles it has in inventory and how many Model 3s it sold in 2018, demand concerns are overblown.
• Tesla shares have been declining this week — but Tesla's stock has always been volatile.

Tesla announced fourth-quarter and full-year vehicle sales on Wednesday. They were a bit lighter than some analysts' projections, but the company still delivered close to 250,000 cars in 2018 — a milestone, and a miracle of sorts, given how much trouble the new Model 3 sedan caused as it made it way through what CEO Elon Musk termed "production hell."

The stock swooned, but that might have been due more to worries about demand for Tesla vehicles going forward, as the company also cut prices by $2,000 to make up for an expiring federal tax credit of $7,500 per car (it was chopped in half after Tesla sold 200,000 qualifying vehicles). 

As I pointed out on Wednesday, a $2,000 Tesla price cut is roughly 50% below what the rest of the auto industry is offering, on average, to sell cars in the US right now; the GMs and Fords just call it an "incentive."

Tesla's cars are arguably a tad overpriced anyway, so trimming the sticker could actually be the right thing for the company to do, especially for less affluent consumers. It bears repeating: the tax credit is worthless if you don't actually owe the IRS anything for 2018. And the folks most likely to owe are, you know, rich.

Read more: Top tech analyst Gene Munster says Tesla's miss on deliveries and price cuts are 'psychological setbacks for investors,' but things aren't as bad for the automaker as they sound

Analysts have been fretting over Tesla demand for years. This has been due largely to the lack of a meaningful electric-car market; globally, EVs make up just 1% of total sales.

Still, Tesla was able to sell another 100,000 of its luxury Model S and Model X vehicles in 2018, repeating 2017's result. The other approximately 150,000 cars it sold were Model 3s — a car that didn't really exist in 2017 and that found an impressive number of buyers in 2018. By contrast, Chevy will likely sell 16-17,000 Bolt EVs in 2018. 

The gaps between those vehicles' sales mean that Tesla has essentially created a new market for a near-luxury EV priced between $40,000 and $80,000 at the top end (and Chevy has shown that there is a consistent, if modest, market for a lower-priced EV.) That's a good thing in the short term because Tesla can gobble up all the sales. Longer term, the question is, "How big is that market?" 

Tesla is basically selling every car it can make 

With something like 400,000 preorders for the Model 3, Tesla could argue that it's satisfied about half the initial demand for the car. A lot of buyers continued to wait for the $35,000 "base" Model 3, but at the moment it's probably good that Tesla isn't selling it because it would post much lower profit margin if it posts one at all. And Tesla needs profits to stay afloat.

As for overall Tesla demand in 2019, it looks to be holding up, if you use the metric of "days supply." Tesla has a few weeks of inventory, a rather low level of days supply compared to the rest of the car business. Ford, for example, has more than two months worth of F-150 pickups sitting around at the moment — something on the order of 200,000 vehicles. It has to maintain that much inventory to satisfy daily demand for 2,500 new trucks.

Plus, Tesla seems to be "conquesting" buyers from other luxury marques, such as BMW, Audi, and Mercedes. Right now, I'd call it curiosity conquesting. Only time will tell if longtime BMW 3-Series owners stick with their Model 3s. 

Those are the nuts and bolts of Tesla's auto business as we commence 2019. So what about the stock? Why is it sliding?

Because it's a volatile stock as it has always been! My advice is to treat it as a gauge of how much unjustified optimism there is about Tesla becoming one of the world's biggest carmakers by sales. Tesla mega-bulls see Musk and his company delivering many millions of vehicles annually ... someday. Hence the $500-ish target prices from some boosters. Anything that threatens that growth narrative or that collides with the harsh realities of actually building those millions of vehicles will ding the stock.

How will we know if Tesla has a true demand problem? Much bigger price cuts, for starters, and if when the company unveils its Model Y compact SUV later in 2018, as anticipated, it doesn't rack up a lot of pre-orders. Until then, demand worries are overblown.

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• The Platinum Card® from American Express offers up to $200 in annual airline credits.
• Because the credits are tied to the calendar year — not your card membership year — it's possible to double-dip, or even triple-dip, the credits for your first card membership year when you open a card in December.
• The card has plenty of other benefits to make up for its $550 annual fee, especially if you're a frequent flyer — I got more than $2,000 of value my first year.

Among the many perks and benefits that come with the AmEx Platinum Card, one that provides the most tangible value is the $200 annual airline fee credit.

Unlike many of the other credits offered by the Platinum Card— up to $200 annually in Uber credits, for instance — or on other cards — a $300 annual travel credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve, for example — the airline credit is based on the calendar year, not the card membership year.

What that means is that if you open a Platinum Card in December — early enough to get the card and spend on it before the month ends — you can actually earn the credit three times in your first card membership year: this month, next year, and before your second annual fee hits in January 2020.

Technically it would be in your first 13 months, rather than your first year. However, since the annual fee doesn't post until your first monthly billing statement, that means you could technically earn it three times covered by your first billed card member year.

When you're approved for a Platinum Card, it typically ships express and arrives within 3-5 business days, meaning there's still time to apply and use the airline credit before the year ends.

Of course, once you have the card — or if you already have it but haven't used your credits yet — you won't have much time to use the credits. Fortunately, there are a few ways to use them up quickly.

The credits are intended to be used on one airline — that you have to select each calendar year on your account management page — for things like checked bags, lounge day passes, change fees, onboard food or drinks, and other similar incidental expenses.

However, users have reported that there are a number of other things that the credits will apply to. Because these are technically not supported by AmEx, there's no guarantee that they continue to work, but as of now, they seem to.

The best "off-label" option seems to be purchasing gift cards at certain airlines, according to travel website The Points Guy (an Insider Picks affiliate partner). $50 gift card purchases at Delta seem to work (when you use the desktop website to buy them), along with Southwest and American Airlines gift cards. Flights under $100 at JetBlue and Alaska Airlines seem to count, while the best options for United and Hawaiian Airlines users may be seat upgrades for future flights.

Try Googling your airline of choice to find tips and reports on what triggers the credit. If you play your card right, you might be able to get $600 in value from just the airline credit within your first year of card membership.

Click here to learn more about the Platinum Card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.

SEE ALSO: 11 lucrative credit card deals you can get when opening a new card in December — including a 200,000-mile bonus

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• Kim Kardashian has over 124 million followers on Instagram.
• Kim's Instagram is filled with a variety of photos of herself, her products, and her family.
• Her Instagram features photos with a lot of colorful, grainy, and monochrome filters.

Kim Kardashian is arguably the queen of Instagram and selfies. Along with publishing a book that is a collection of her selfies, she and the rest of the Kardashianshave some of the most popular Instagram accounts out there.

From photos of her children to selfies with cool filters, her Instagram has quite a variety of photos. And with over 124 million followers, she seems to be doing something right. 

Here are what appear to be some of Kim Kardashian's keys to success and how you can use them when posting on your personal Instagram. 

Kim appears to use lots of different filters and effects on her photos 

It seems like Kim uses quite a few photo editing techniques to achieve the retro look on her photos. Apps like Perfect365, VSCO, and Huji Cam are a few photo editing and photo filter apps that you might want to use to help you add Kim Kardashian-esque effects to your photos. 

VSCO has several filters you can also add to a photo to give it a nostalgic vibe. For the most part, when editing, you'll want to increase the "grain" of your photo to give it more of a vintage feel. To mimic the effect on some of Kim's photos, adjust the contrast to draw out the darkest colors in the photo.

She is always switching up her photo effects

Lomograph is another free app that can help you give your photos cool effects similar to the ones Kim oftentimes uses. Something as simple as a light leak or lens flare can give your photo a Kim flare. 

She shares candid moments about people she cares about

Kim posts a lot of personal photos of her kids and family and she also posts childhood photos that almost make you feel like you're a part of her life. By sharing a photo something near and dear to you, like your favorite pet or you and your siblings as kids,  you give followers a peek into your life, just like Kim does.

Kim posts a lot of photos that are (or appear to be) candid

Many of Kim K's photos are captured in the moment, or at least appear to be. All you need is a really great photographer and a bit of practice posing to look like you're not posing. 

Many of her photos show her looking away from the viewer

In a lot of Kim's photos, she's looking away from the camera or hiding her face, which can add a bit of mystery to the photo. Posting photos where you're looking at something else or are facing away from the camera might make followers wonder what you're doing, thereby creating more mystery than a regular photo where you're staring directly at the camera would.

Kim has a variety of photos that show a different aspect of her personality and aesthetic

With photos of so many different places, things, and people, Kim's Instagram is almost like an extension of herself. It can be rewarding to make sure each photo says something about yourself, so don't be afraid to show off photos that are a bit silly or unplanned — not everything is about the perfect aesthetic. 

She shows off her outfits and style often

If there's anything to envy about Kim's Instagram, it might just be the glamorous outfits she wears. To make your Instagram have a flair of Kim style, you might want to share photos that show off your best or most daring outfits, even if you're still in the dressing room.

Kim oftentimes switches up her poses

The Kardashians are known for their photo poses, like the Barbie pose, which can add a lot to a photo. And if you scroll through Kim's Instagram, you'll notice she switches up her poses fairly often.  

And, of course, she uses flash when taking her popular mirror selfies

Getting the perfect "selfie face" can be hard at first (and may involve taking hundreds of photos to find one good one), but one of the key components to Kim's Instagrams are her mirror selfies, typically taken using the flash on her phone camera. 

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• Climate change is changing our environment and ecosystems, and it's impacting many aquatic animals. 
• Rising ocean temperatures, pollution, and the disappearance of low-lying beaches are altering the lives and safety of these aquatic animals. In 100 years, many species could go extinct or be highly endangered. 
• Krill, blue whales, hawksbill turtles, and ringed seals, among others, are at risk of extinction in the next century as their food and habitats disappear.

Climate change is already impacting a variety of ecosystems and environments around the world, putting vulnerable animals in danger of extinction or putting already endangered animals at even higher risk. There's still hope that these animals won't be wiped out completely by climate change-related impacts, but we'll need to curb our emissions of greenhouse gases and ramp up conservation efforts.

Here are eight aquatic species that may no longer exist in 100 years due to climate change. 

SEE ALSO: The most irreplaceable sites on Earth

Pteropods may cease to exist in certain areas.

The increased acidification of our oceans — which is happening as the water absorbs carbon dioxide — is already affecting shellfish. In some areas of the Pacific Ocean, the changing pH levels mean the shells of pteropods can no longer form properly.

Pteropods are a type of small sea snail that fish like salmon and herring depend on for food. 

A 2014 study published in the journal "Proceedings of the Royal Society B" found that in certain areas off the US West Coast, the water has become corrosive to pteropod shells. As a result, pteropods, especially juvenile ones, could see their entire shell dissolve, which can be fatal.

"By 2100, 50% of the oceans would no longer be viable for pteropods," Dr. Richard Freely, the study's co-author, told Vice. 

The population of Hawaiian monk seal has been declining for quite some time.

As ocean water warms, it expands. This is partially why sea levels are rising around the world — and projected to continue doing so throughout this century. Higher sea levels can lead some beaches to disappear.

The Hawaiian Monk Seal has been severely affected by this loss of beach, as it spends about one-third of its time on land. The creatures are also suffering from a disease called toxoplasmosis, which originates in cats.

The monk seal population is reportedly declining at 4% annually; it is estimated that fewer than 1,200 individual Hawaiian Monk Seals exist. Biologists predict the number willdip below 1,000 in the next three to four years, placing this species among the world's most endangered.

The number of hawksbill turtles is also dwindling.

Thehawksbill turtle is one of the most endangered sea turtles in the world. In addition to being threatened by the now-illegal tortoiseshell trade and boat strikes, climate change also puts this species at risk of extinction.

In particular, the species could lose their habitat in areas where coral reef bleaching is occurring, likeAustralia, Indonesia, and the Maldives. As coral reefs continue to die, that eliminates some of the hawkbill's habitat, which means the turtle could be headed toward extinction. 

• In a post on LinkedIn, billionaire hedge-fund manager Ray Dalio argued the US should continue to invest in China's growth, even though its "culture" is increasingly antithetical to ours.
• What Dalio calls "culture" is actually a creeping authoritarianism that has only led China into a world of pain and is an affront to American democracy.

For years Ray Dalio — the founder of Bridgewater, the world's biggest hedge fund — has used his master of the universe soap box to wax philosophical about the Chinese economy and its epic growth story.

It's time to stop listening.

In a recent LinkedIn post, Dalio argued that investors should look past the US-China trade war and the volatility it has caused markets, and instead focus on managing the two countries' diverging cultures in a productive, beneficial way.

The US, he writes, is a culture of individual liberty where as China is this ...

From the post:

"One of China's leaders who explained this concept to me told that the word "country" consists of two characters, state and family, which influences how they view their role in looking after their state/family. One might say that the Chinese government is paternal.

For example, it regulates what types of video games are watched by children and how many hours a day they play them. As a broad generalization, when the interest of the country (like the family) is at odds with the interest of the individual, the interest of the country (like the interest of the family) should be favored over the interest of the individual. 

Individuals are parts of a greater machine. As a result of this perspective, the system seeks to develop, promote and reward good character and good citizenship. For example it gives people a social credit score that rates the quality of their citizenship. And each person is expected to view themselves as parts of the greater whole."

He goes on: "I'm not saying which system is better."

Dalio argues that this cultural mindset is what has made China so successful for so long. Never mind that the Chinese Communist experiment as we know it is only a few decades old, decades that were preceded by some of the bloodiest terror the world has ever seen, by Mao Zedong's brutal reeducation camps, by civil war, and by economic ruin.

And never mind that the Chinese surveillance state is a product of President Xi Jinping's growing power — just like his anti-corruption drive, just like the removal of his term limits. It is not a kind of cultural fait acompli. It is a political choice that crept up on a world that (perhaps) naively expected Xi to follow in his predecessors' footsteps and continue to open up the country.

That's what makes Dalio difficult to follow. On the one hand in this essay, he argues that China's openness has made it a miracle. At the same time he argues that this authoritarian bent is part of its culture that we must accept.

Either way China, as he describes it, is not the China it was when he first encountered it 34 years ago. 

An example: Xi is presiding over the creation of a digital-surveillance state so powerful that it faces a shortage of low-wage workers to find forbidden internet content in China's "censorship factories."

You see, these workers have been such good citizens that they don't even know what content to censor (Tiananmen Square, for example). They have to learn the truth first, then they can make sure none of their countrymen stumble on it by accident.

The digital-surveillance state is not an essential part of Chinese "culture." China (through Dalio and any of its other willing friends in the US) is merely taking a page out of an old authoritarian playbook. It is reinterpreting culture at its convenience and using it as an excuse to explain away a form of state control that makes Americans incredibly uncomfortable and makes the country incredibly dangerous. (As I write this, the US has just increased its travel warning for citizens going to China).

Chinese culture, with authoritarian characteristics

Americans should be uncomfortable with this interpretation of Chinese culture. There's a reason why Google employees rebelled against creating a censored Chinese search engine, for example. We are a country that believes in the concept of negative liberty, as philosopher Isaiah Berlin explained it. When we're being out best selves, we believe that individuals should have freedom from harm, from surveillance, from being taken advantage of, from being discriminated against, things like that.

Other than that, do what you want.

China's government is now creating a structure based on the opposite concept — positive liberty. With positive liberty you're free to do x, y, and z — and  you cannot deviate.

For example, in China you're free to be part of the Communist Party — but that's it. You're allowed to be culturally Chinese — and that's it. You certainly cannot be a Muslim living in Xinjiang, because that gets you sent to a reeducation camp. The government dictates what you can and should be in China. This is how authoritarians exercise their control — it is not a culture, it is a power structure.

And as China edits its list of things you can and cannot be under President Xi's regime, the victors of China's economic rise have had cause for worry. Even before Xi Jinping's corruption drive — which critics insisted was a vehicle for purging his enemies — private-sector entrepreneurs knew that power hungry state-owned enterprises and a lack of rule of law could spell disaster for them.

Last February, Zhang Wenzhong, the 56-year-old founder of Wumart Stores, one of the country’s biggest retailers, told a forum of entrepreneurs that he still fears for the future of China's private sector. Zhang had just finished serving seven years in prison for fraud, bribery, and embezzlement.

"Without outside intervention or influence, no law enforcement agency – police, prosecutors or courts – would have reached such a verdict against me under normal circumstances, creating a case so unjust that it is now easily judged as a mistake," he told the annual gathering in northeastern Heilongjiang in February, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

As SCMP pointed out, entrepreneurs at the very top of Chinese society worry their "original sin"— the way they became rich — will suddenly fall out of favor with Xi's new government. Xi has committed the party to his interpretation of Chinese Communist purity with vigor. Academics who once found the space to be critical of China are leaving the country. This is something Ray Dalio would have us ignore.

Things are changing in China, and not in the direction that makes it a good business partner or investment. It is changing in a way that tests the bounds of American pluralism — our ability to accept and recognize systems and values that are not like ours — and perhaps breaks them.

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This is a preview of a detailed slide deck from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service.Click here to learn more. Current subscribers can view the deck here.

Rising smartphone penetration, regulations pushing users away from cash, and globalization demanding faster and new ways to transact are leading to a swell in noncash payments, which Business Insider Intelligence expects to grow to 841 billion transactions by 2023.

This shift has created a greenfield opportunity in the space. Legacy providers are working to leverage their scale as they update their infrastructure and adapt their business models. But at the same time, upstarts are using their strengths in user experience to try to disintermediate or beat out those at the forefront of the space — a dichotomy that’s creating crowding and competition.

Digitization and crowding in the payments space will force companies that want to emerge atop the ecosystem to undergo four critical digital transformations: diversification, consolidation and collaboration, data protection, and automation. Those that do this effectively, and use these shifts as a means of achieving scale without eroding the user experience, will be in the best position to use ongoing digitization in their payments space to their advantage.

In The Future Of Payments 2018, Business Insider Intelligence takes a look at some of the biggest problems digitization and crowding are causing for payments firms, outlines the key transformations players can make going forward to resolve them, and explores areas where firms have already begun to use these transformations to their advantage.

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• Travel site Kayak recently announced its list of the top 10 travel destinations that will trend in 2019.
• The 10 spots are located around the world, from Guadalajara,Mexico, to Bali, Indonesia.
• The top travel destination this year is expected to be Mexico City, Mexico.

It might be less than a week into 2019, but it's never too early to start mapping out your travel plans for the new year. And don't worry if you're unsure of where to go.

Travel website Kayak recently shared its list of the top trending travel destinations for 2019. The search engine analyzed more than 1.5 billion annual travel searches to find its data, and then compiled everything from hotel prices to weather statistics for each location.

Spanning the globe from Mexico to Indonesia, these are the 10 trendiest travel spots of 2019, according to Kayak.

10. Munich, Germany, will trend among tourists who love to view historic sights in the daytime, and indulge in fast-paced nightlife in the evening.

Popular art galleries like SPERLING and Deborah Schamoni are likely to thank for the recent 34% increase in searches for Munich.

9. Known for its beautiful beaches and daring hiking trails, Maui, Hawaii, has something for every type of traveler.

If you're hoping to travel from the island's resorts to its museums and beaches, Kayak recommends renting a car. Of course, the island is large, and seeing Maui in its entirety might be difficult, but doing so will help you understand why searches for the spot have increased by 35%.

8. Rome, Italy, has seen a 39% increase in searches, likely thanks to its rich history and opportunities for sightseeing.

If you choose Rome as your destination of choice this year, don't be surprised to find a "service tax" on your receipt when dining. Tipping is not customary in Italy, so the fee is added in its place, according to Kayak.

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Williams Sonoma has just added hundreds of items to its semi-annual sale, so you can save on cooking tools you'll use on a regular basis.

The sale covers everything from a basic rolling pin to a Le Creuset Dutch Oven, so there's definitely something for everyone and every budget. Best of all, most orders are eligible for free standard shipping if you use the promo code "FREESHIP" at checkout.

To save you time, we looked through the whole sale and rounded up 20 deals that are actually worth checking out.

And while Williams Sonoma is known for stocking high-end kitchen tools, a majority of the items below are available for less than $50, so you won't have to break the bank to give yourself a major kitchen upgrade this year.

Keep reading for 20 great deals on kitchen essentials at Williams Sonoma's semi annual sale:

SEE ALSO: 28 useful kitchen gadgets you can get under $25

Cole & Mason Ardingly Faux Marble Salt & Pepper Mill

$38.99 (originally $49.95) [You save $10.96]

Rocket Ship Cocktail Shaker

$39.95 (originally $59.99) [You save $20.04]

Linen Double Hemstitch Table Runner

$29.99 (originally $59.95) [You save $29.94]