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THE HEADLINES
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STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED
Netflix has taken The Crown from HBO. See what we did there?
The N in FANG has dethroned HBO, ending the premium cable pioneers reign of Emmy supremacy. For the first time in 17 years, HBO did not garner the most Emmy noms. That honor goes to Netflix … $112 to $108.
Who cares about nominations for an award show you ask? The numbers don’t lie. Award shows and the accompanying press equal steaming service signups. Look no further than Hulu’s Handmaid’s Tale which won the Emmy for best drama in 2017.
Water Cooler Talking Point: “Remember what Netflix did last time they set their sites on destroying a competitor? I’ll just leave this story about the last remaining Blockbuster right here.”
OVERCHARGING AND UNDERWHELMING
Big banks are disappointing the US again, this time in a less catastrophic way. Wells Fargo and Citigroup shares were down on Friday to the tune of 3.2% and 1.7% respectively. Their counterparts over at JPMorgan saw an uptick on revenue and profit beats.
While Citigroup’s fall was linked to a growth in earnings driven mostly by a lower corporate tax rate, rather than operational efficiencies, Wells Fargo’s share price was affected by yet another gaffe …
On Friday, Wells announced that they’d overcharged wealth management and forex customers. The bank set aside another $285M to pay back clients, adding to a slew of outflows related to recent legal issues. You know, the same legal troubles that Warren Buffet referred to as “cardinal sin.”
Water Cooler Talking Point: “And all of this right after they spent all that money on commercials telling us they’re sorry!”
YOU DOWN WITH ZTE?
The US Commerce Department has officially lifted its ban on ZTE following a $400M payment covering the balance of a $1.4B fine imposed by the US, thus allowing American firms to once again sell products and work with the Chinese telecom.
You might remember that ZTE was sanctioned by the US for selling to Iran and North Korea despite those repressive regimes making America’s naughty list. Team America: World Police, indeed.
After firing its board, hiring new chairmen, and Venmoing the US $1.4B, ZTE has checked all of Uncle Sam’s boxes, allowing it to return to business as normal. Well, without Iran and North Korea as customers, that is.
Water Cooler Talking Point: “For those corporations out there that are still undecided on what regions of the world would be best to expand their footprint, here’s some free advice: North Korea and Iran = bad.”
IN OTHER NEWS
- The price is too damn high. Donny Politics is considering dipping into US oil reserves to offset rising prices (and of course, as part of political jockeying) from the US 660M-barrel stockpile, known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
- WeWork has a new perk for employees: saving the environment one meat lovers pizza at a time. The forward-thinking co-working space peddler will ban all meat products at company events and will no longer reimburse employees for any meat-based meals.
- More like Papa GONE. Days after Papa John Schnatter admitted to using a racial slur on a conference call, which cost him his spot as chairman of the pizza parlor’s board, the company has decided to remove the pizza pariah’s mug from its branding materials.