“Ms. Porat is the CFO, not the lady CFO” — Danielle Ginach of investment management firm Sonen Capital. Yesterday, a shareholder referred to Alphabet’s Finance Chief Ruth Porat as the “lady CFO.” Oh no he didn’t.
MARKET SNAPSHOT
Big Picture
- Buoyed by the materials and industrial sectors, U.S. stocks finished in the green and the Dow closed above 18,000 for the first time since April
Market Movers
- Shares of payments processor VeriFone finished down 25% due to a three-headed monster: missed earnings, slashed guidance and impending layoffs
- Shares of UnitedHealth closed up 2.5% after the healthcare company boosted its dividend by 25%
CORPORATE PRIMER
To India and Beyond
Is there any place in the world Amazon doesn’t deliver to? The e-commerce giant plans to invest another $3 billion in India, bringing its total investment to $5 billion. Not a bad strategy considering India is the world’s most populous democracy and one of its fastest growing economies. But things are a little different in India: Amazon can only sell goods offered by third parties, and it delivers to customers’ doors rather than using a postal service. There might be some hurdles, but CEO Jeff Bezos is up for the challenge. Bring it.
Yahoo Sets Up Yard Sale
The fire sale for Yahoo’s assets is officially in full swing. Since Verizon declared its $3 billion bid for Yahoo’s core internet business earlier this week, Yahoo has sprung into action. The latest? The internet giant has listed over 3,000 of its internet patents up for sale to the highest bidder as part of a large effort to sell off almost everything it has. Sources say Yahoo is looking to bring in around $1 billion for the patents, but at this point we’re confident that Yahoo’s pesky activist investors (we’re looking at you, Starboard Value) would settle for significantly less. Yahoo shares were up almost 1% on the news.
Fuel Economy Cheaters Never Win
Remember when Volkswagen cheated on its emissions tests and subsequently got slammed on all sides by karma? Of course you remember. And remember how a slew of other automakers have also come under fire for similar cheating violations? Yes, you remember that too. Well, there’s a new development for one of those dastardly autos. The culprit: Suzuki, which turned itself in for manipulating data by using unauthorized fuel economy tests. Long-time CEO Osamu Honda resigned yesterday as a result, but has decided to stay on board as chairman to “prevent a recurrence of the problem.” Too little too late?
WORLD MACRO
Even More Economic Data
A report released on Wednesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has U.S. economic growth holding steady at slightly slower than normal. What’s new about this release? Well, slow and steady may still win the race, but with data from the report giving a nod of approval to Russia, Germany, Japan and even Brazil, the U.S. is by no means out of the woods. Plus, the timing on the data is pretty on point—it’s a perfect follow-up to last week’s cries by the World Bank and OECD leaders to boost government investment.
OTHER STORIES
- Apple is making big changes to the app store
- Morgan Stanley fined $1 million
- Sweden bans M&Ms
- Uber promises $2 credit if you’re late
ECONOMIC CALENDAR
- Monday: Janet Yellen Speech
- Tuesday: Valeant Earnings (-); Productivity and Costs (-)
- Wednesday: Lululemon Earnings (+/-); Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (+)
- Thursday: H&R Block Earnings; Weekly Jobless Claims
- Friday: Consumer Sentiment
GUILTY PLEASURE ANALYTICS
Netflix…while you’re watching it, it’s watching you right back. Often, the company is reluctant to release the data it gets from tracking its customers, but it recently crunched some binge-watching data for us on our guilty pleasure TV shows. Here are the (somewhat) surprising results:
- First things first, there are two binge-watching categories: those shows that are watched in rapid succession (the Natty Light shows), and those that are instead savored more slowly (the fine wine shows).
- Viewers watched a season of shows in the former category within four days, dedicating over two hours per day. These “live fast die young” shows typically have “high-energy” narratives, such as Sense8 and Orphan Black.
- Shows with more complex narratives, such as House of Cards or Narcos, were actually enjoyed at a more leisurely pace—that is, one season over six days, with an average of 45 minutes of viewing per day. More leisurely, but still pretty darn fast.
- What does binging look like overall? Well, last year, over 50% of shows that were binge-watched were dramas, with comedy coming in at a distant second of around 20%. Reality TV struggled to cross the finish line, coming in at 7%.
INTERVIEW QUESTION OF THE DAY
How much does the Starbucks in Times Square bring in in annual revenue? (Answer 9)
BUSINESS TERM OF THE DAY
Samurai Bond — a yen-denominated bond issued in Tokyo by a non-Japanese company and subject to Japanese regulations.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Washington DC is expected to become the first city on the East Coast to approve $15 minimum wage after council members vote on the issue later this month. Will we start seeing this increase across more cities throughout the U.S.? Fun fact: New York City is prevented by state law from raising its minimum wage on its own.
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