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BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has said it would commit $100 million to training the next generation of skilled trades workers who can support a growing demand for new infrastructure. In its announcement, BlackRock explained that its philanthropic Future Builders Initiative will “help address urgent labor needs,” noting that there’s been an increase in “demand for workers in skilled trades such as electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers, and ironworkers.” The company said that demand is expected to continue to surge in the coming years, and explained that it would help to meet that demand by supporting future workers during all stages of training through licensure. Throughout our history, tradespeople have built our country, Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock, who also serves as the chairman of the AI Infrastructure Partnership. said in the announcement. America needs an estimated $10 trillion in infrastructure investment by 2033 to modernize aging systems and build new energy, digital, and AI infrastructure. Capital alone is not enough people are central to building our nations future.” The announcement comes at a time when the rate of joblessness for Gen Z is surging, and college enrollment may be on the decline. As more young adults skip college degrees, unconvinced that four years of college, and oftentimes, taking on the burden of thousands in student loans will actually ensure a financially stable future, they’re pursuing blue-collar work more often. According to a 2025 Resume Builder report, 42% of Gen Z adults are turning to the trades in the wake of rising economic concerns and growing job instability. Experts say that a greater investment in the trades can help solve some of today’s current workforce challenges. Julian Scadden, CEO of Nexstar Network, an organization that helps skilled trades workers grow their business, says those jobs are “hand-on, high-impact and future proof.” Scadden explains that, “For too long, we’ve treated the trades as a fallback rather than a first-choice career option, but that perception is finally changing. The need isnt just a flash in the pan, as there are longer term prospects and enormous opportunities for people in skilled trade careers. That certainly feels true as concerns about finding a job that can actually enable young adults to afford modern living are real, and they’re rampant. But cost of living conversations aside, also driving those concerns are fears around AI taking human jobs. Interestingly, while AI may be able to take on a growing number of tasks once done by human workers, it’s also increasing the need for more skilled trade workers (at least for now). When speaking at the World Economic Forum alongside Larry Fink in January, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang spoke to the fact that demand for skilled trade workers is surging as construction for AI data centers rises. “This is the largest infrastructure buildout in history and that’s gonna create a lot of jobs,” Huang said, while adding that pay for skilled trade work is increasing at the same time. “Salaries have gone upnearly double,” the CEO said. He continued, “Everybody should be able to make a great living. You don’t need to have a PhD in computer science to do so.” Through that lens, experts say the investment in trades comes at the right time. Steve Metzmen, CEO of iBusiness Technologies, a mobile technology integrator and Apple partner, where he developed the Connected Apprentice platform for trades workers, tells Fast Company the investment is “very smart” and that “deep funding for trades training is needed now.” The CEO says that’s true given we’re at what he calls an “inflection point” where “cutting-edge technology and long-overdue appreciation for skilled trades are converging at exactly the same moment.” Metzmen continues, comparing the current transformative period to that of the 1800s, when railways were first being built: “Without those tracks, the great transformations of American industry and capitalism were not possible,” Metzmen says. “Required infrastructure had to come first, everything else waited and followed,” the CEO adds. Ironically, while BlackRock is clearly invested in supporting trade workers, they’re also deeply committed to the power of AI. In a 2025 transactionone of the largest data center transactions everthe firm purchased Aligned Data Centers in a $40 billion deal. “With this investment in Aligned Data Centers, we further our goal of delivering the infrastructure necessary to power the future of AI,” Fink said at the time. Likewise, per the recent announcement, the firm’s contribution will also go toward the building of new AI data centers. Still, while the investment may eventually add to the growing anxiety around AI taking over a growing number of jobs, BlackRock’s investment is bound to help those who want to pursue work in the trades find financial stability in the near future. Metzmen says, “This investment doesn’t just support laborit helps to relieve the greatest constraint on the entire resource delivery pipeline.”
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E-Commerce
The U.S. economy, hobbled by last falls 43-day government shutdown, advanced at an unexpectedly sluggish 0.7% annual rate from October through December, the Commerce Department reported Friday in a big downgrade of its initial estimate. Growth in gross domestic product the nations output of goods and services was down sharply from 4.4% in last years third quarter and 3.8% in the second. And the fourth-quarter number was half the governments first estimate of 1.4%; economists had expected the revision to go the other way and show stronger growth. Federal government spending and investment, clobbered by the shutdown, plunged at a 16.7% rate, hacking 1.16 percentage points off fourth-quarter growth. For all of 2025, GDP grew 2.1%, solid but down from an initial estimate of 2.2% and from growth of 2.8% in 2024 and 2.9% 2023. In the fourth quarter, consumer spending grew at a 2% clip, down from 3.5% in the third quarter and the 2.4% the government had initially estimated. Business investment, excluding housing, increased at a healthy 2.2% pace, likely reflecting money being poured into artificial intelligence, but the increase was down from 3.2% in the third quarter and from the 3.7% advance in the Commerce department’s initial estimate. Exports fell at a 3.3% annual rate in the fourth quarter, a bigger drop than the government first estimated. A category within the GDP data that measures the economys underlying strength came in weaker than previously reported, growing at a 1.9% clip, down from 2.9% in the third quarter and from the first estimate of 2.4%. This category includes consumer spending and private investment, but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending. Following two consecutive strong readings for the second and third quarters, the economy was expected to soften heading into year-end. Its now increasingly clear that the economy not only slowed but stumbled into the finish line, Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, said in a commentary. “The government shutdown was certainly a major factor in the loss of momentum, but a sharp decline in consumption growth also played a role.” The U.S. economy the worlds largest has shown surprising resilience in the face of President Donald Trumps policies, including sweeping import taxes and mass deportations. But the war with Iran has driven up oil and gas prices and clouded the economic outlook. Meanwhile, the American job market is in a slump. Last month, companies, nonprofits and government agencies cut 92,000 jobs. In 2025, they added fewer than 10,000 jobs a month, the weakest hiring outside recession years since 2002. Fridays GDP was the second of the three estimates of fourth-quarter growth. The final report is due April 9. Paul Wiseman, AP economics writer
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E-Commerce
Feeld markets itself as the dating app for the curious. For most of its users, that means curiosity about kink and casual sexbut its newest tool asks you to be curious about yourself. As a favorite platform for the kink, fetish, and nonmonogamous communities, Feeld is a place where taboos are the norm. But a new survey from the app suggests that kink is more mainstream than dominant culture would have you believe. And Feelds new tool, Reflections, lets anyoneFeeld users and otherwiseassess their own relationship with nontraditional sex. Feeld surveyed thousands of its own users and external respondents for opinions on the perceived normality of traits like nonmonogamy, queerness, and kinkiness. It published the results in a report titled “State of Reflections, Vol. 1.” The survey found that while Feeld users were unsurprisingly more open-minded on average, the general public wasnt far behind in its attitudes toward non-vanilla sex. Nearly half of non-Feeld users (42%) said they practice kink, compared with 68% of the apps user base. In some areas, everyday folks were even kinkier than Feeld members: Among those who practice kink, 44% of external respondents said they engage in role-play, just above the 41% of Feeld users that said the same. But despite whats actually happening behind closed doors, kink remains largely stigmatized. Only 25% of non-Feeld users said that talking about safe sex is normal, and just 23% said its normal to prioritize conversations about consent. And 28% of those external participants believe alternative relationship structuresdynamics like ethical nonmonogamyare somewhat or extremely abnormal. Reflecting on taboos To help break down those stigmas, Feeld launched Reflections, its new self-assessment tool. Reflections is a collection of surveys that asks respondents to rate their interests and behaviors across three categories: desire, boundaries, and relationships. In the desire section, users reflect on their comfort with a variety of kinksfrom being blindfolded to role-playing a doctor-patient relationship to bringing toys into the bedroom. The boundaries section asks them to consider what qualifies as a red flag in a relationshipgoing through a partners phone without consent might be a bridge too far, for exampleand how much any given partner impacts their own self-expression. Finally, the relationships portion delves into attachment style and interest in nonmonogamy. After each section, Feeld provides an analysis of those answers, providing scores out of 100, under headings including kink affinity, feeling authentic in sex, and voice and consent. (Reflections is available to anyone online, or to users directly in the Feeld app.) In a press release, Feeld CEO Ana Kirova described Reflections as one of the most defining experiences weve brought to Feeld. It embodies what weve always stood forcuriosity, self-discovery, and opennesswhile reflecting our core belief that meaningful connection starts with self-understanding, Kirova said. Reflections creates the space for introspection, so every connection that follows can be more honest, intentional, and true to who you are.
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E-Commerce
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