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PARIS: Netflix is “actively” working on building its cheaper, ad-supported deal, the company’s French team said on June 28, but added there was no clear timeline. It was revealed last month that the streaming platform was planning to introduce a new cheaper subscription model by the end of the year that would break its taboo on advertising. That leak to the New York Times followed news that Netflix had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of the year – its first decline in a decade. “We don’t have a precise timeline yet,” Anne-Gabrielle Dauba-Pantanacce, head of communications for Netflix France, told AFP. “We are actively working on it. It’s a priority – this idea of giving subscribers more options in the context of high inflation,” she added. Bloomberg reported over the weekend that Netflix has yet to appoint a head of advertising or build a sales team. The Wall Street Journal said Netflix is actively looking into partnerships with Google and Comcast to … [Read more...] about Netflix ‘actively’ working on ad-supported subscription

I f anybody had said to me I would end up in the food business, I would have said, ‘What are you smoking?’ ” says Daniel Lubetzky , the 50-year-old founder of Kind Healthy Snacks . “I never thought in a thousand years I would be selling food.” Maybe that’s because Lubetzky isn’t really selling food. Rather he is peddling health and altruism, at least the cheap sort you can buy in a 1.4-ounce fruit-and-nut snack bar drizzled with chocolate. Clues to Lubetzky’s deeper ambitions abound in his office decor: On one wall hang framed photos of him with Pope Francis, President Barack Obama and Shimon Peres, the late president of Israel. Books about the Middle East line another. Motivational quotes from the likes of Gandhi, Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama are painted in the hallways. The overt display of social consciousness is core to Kind’s business strategy. The company has sold 2 billion snack bars since its founding in 2004 and has done so by wrapping itself in a … [Read more...] about Social Spin Doctor: Kind Bar’s Daniel Lubetzky Builds A $1.5 Billion Fortune On Do-Gooder Rhetoric

Byju’s said to offer over US$1 bil for 2U to expand in US - A + A BANGALORE (June 29): Indian online-education provider Byju’s has offered to buy 2U Inc in a cash deal that values the US-listed edtech company at more than US$1 billion, a person familiar with the matter said. Byju’s made the offer of about US$15 a share to 2U’s board last week, said the person, who asked not to be named as the bid isn’t yet public. The offer represents a 61% premium to 2U’s closing price of US$9.30 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday and gives the Lanham, Maryland-based company an enterprise value of about US$2 Byju’s, one of the world’s most valuable startups with backing from Tiger Global Management and Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, is accelerating its expansion globally through acquisitions. Bloomberg reported in May that Byju’s was likely to bid for either 2U or Chegg Inc. Talks with Santa Clara, California-based Chegg haven’t progressed, the person said. 2U surged … [Read more...] about Zuckerberg-backed Byju’s said to offer over US$1 bil for 2U to expand in US

Tom Stalnaker is an Oliver Wyman partner and the firm's global aviation sector lead. Khalid Usman is a partner in Oliver Wyman's transportation and services practice specializing in airline economics. Andrew Buchanan is a vice president in Oliver Wyman's transportation and services practice. The opinions expressed in this commentary are their own. After two years of enduring masks, social distancing and quarantines, there's not much that can come between consumers and their summer vacations this year. Outbreaks of Covid-19 no longer seem to stop them from traveling — and based on recent demand for air travel, neither do higher prices for getaways. But while consumers may have gotten over fears of Covid, the economy is still riddled with its impacts — including high fuel prices , disrupted supply chains, and a labor market filled with workers hoping to work at least part of the time from home. For airlines, busy summer travel is turning into a season of operational … [Read more...] about Opinion: Airlines are facing pressure from all directions

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin With the U.S stock market experiencing its first significant correction in a couple of years, it seems like a good time to discuss some of the psychological biases that can negatively influence investor behavior: 1. Confirmation We all tend to actively seek out information that supports opinions we have already formed and to digest facts which suit our own world view. Investors commonly ignore or avoid reading critical opinions and reports about investments in which they already have large positions and seek confirmation from analysts and the media that the original decisions they made to buy and keep are still good ones. Just as great leaders will listen intently to those with whom they disagree, great investors should listen to the growling bears going in the opposite direction from the thundering herd of bulls. 2. Anchoring The price an investor initially pays for a stock can act as an unfortunate psychological … [Read more...] about An Investor’s Mind: 6 Ways It Can Block The Path To Long Term Wealth

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Hedge funds continued to show their worth in May, with those administered by Citco recording only a small drop even as the broader markets continued to plummet. Hedge fund performance improved slightly month over month, although not enough to shift the asset class into the green on a year-to-date basis. Hedge fund performance in May According to Citco's monthly report on hedge fund performance, the funds it administered recorded a total weighted average return of -1.1%, compared to the -2.9% return recorded in April . The firm said performance by strategy and size was again mixed. Unsurprisingly, commodity hedge funds continued to post robust returns due to high commodity prices, recording an average return of 1.1% for May, although they were flat on a median basis. However, global macro funds outperformed commodity funds slightly, recording a weighted average return of 1.2% and a median return of 0.7%. … [Read more...] about Hedge Funds Hold Fairly Steady Amid The May Market Turmoil

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Sir John Templeton was a twentieth century American-born British investor, banker and fund manager. He entered the mutual fund market and created the Templeton Growth Fund, which averaged growth over 15% per year for 38 years. He once said, “To buy when others are despondently selling and to sell when others are avidly buying requires the greatest fortitude.” Warren Buffett also once said that it is wise for investors to be “fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.” Easier said than done, I hear you say. How do you keep your head around you when everyone is losing theirs? Thinking contrarian has always been a great strategy and one which I have employed extensively over the years. Naturally, to be honest. Thinking differently to the crowd requires patience, discipline, and very little emotion. These are traits that sometimes have to be wired (or indeed forced) into your brain. Especially when you … [Read more...] about Crashing Stock Markets Can Provide Opportunity For Longer Term Gains. But Do You Have The Stomach For It?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin One of the striking images of recent current affairs is the leaders of France, Germany and Italy in a train compartment on their way to Kiev. Trains have played an important part in the history of European wars. For instance, armistices for the first and second world wars were signed in carriages and the professionalisation of the German army officer class in the lead up to the first world war was driven by the need to rationalise complicated train timetables (it’s a long story). Emmanuel Macron’s trip to Kiev offered him a much-needed chance to clarify his stance on the war, though his return to Paris was less happy as he subsequently lost his absolute majority in parliament. My sense is that the rise of the far left and right in France is less damaging in the near term for Macron – he will likely gain support from the right ‘Les Republicans’, to the long-term benefit of Edouard Philippe perhaps. What is more interesting in … [Read more...] about Do Ukraine And Roe V. Wade Mean The End Of Democracy?

Thai Airways has managed to sell the first 11 aircraft out of a total of 37 it has put up for sale as part of its bankruptcy recovery program. The airline’s acting president, Chansin Treenuchagron, ay Thailand’s transport minister has permitted Thai Airways to sell 1 older Boeing 737-400 plane and 10 Boeing 747-400 ‘Jumbo’ jets. Thai Airways had found buyers for the 11 furloughed aircraft but Thailand’s Civil Air Operating Licence required authorisation from the minister in charge. Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob has now permitted to dispose of the 11 aircraft. Meanwhile, the national airline has been trying to recover since its filing for bankruptcy in May 2020 by reducing expenses, reforming the organisation, reducing staff and senior management, and selling unnecessary secondary assets, including some of its older fleet. The airline also sold land, buildings, and stocks in Bangkok Aviation Fuel and Nok Air (which also filed for bankruptcy in July 2020). The former … [Read more...] about Thai Airways has sold 11 of its old aircraft, 26 to go

- A + A NEW YORK (June 29): First Solar Inc has decided against building a new factory in the US, citing uncertainties regarding trade policy and tax incentives. The biggest US solar manufacturer is still planning a manufacturing facility in either Europe or India, and Chief Executive Officer Mark Widmar expects to make a final decision within 90 days. That would come after the company completes a third US plant early next year in Ohio and its first factory in India in the second half of 2023. The decision is a setback for US President Joe Biden’s efforts to boost domestic solar manufacturing. Solar installations have slowed this year amid a US Commerce Department trade investigation, raising the prospect of tariffs on panels imported from four Southeast Asian nations. While the White House announced this month a two-year moratorium on new tariffs and took steps to encourage American production, Widmar said the moves don’t address underlying issues that give … [Read more...] about First Solar rejects US site for new factory, eyes Europe or India instead