Comcast, Charter, and Netflix Walk into a Bar š„ā¦
While youāre getting drunk celebrating Cinco de Mayo or crying about Meek Millās homecoming celebration failure (aka 76ers struggle woes against Boston Celtics), remember that now is the perfect time to start plotting how to swindle your boss to get a raise before the summer, as the job economy is heating up! š¤
Cable Is Losing The Battle Against Netflix and Chill
As viewers flee traditional TV for streaming-video services like Netflix and Hulu, the cable cord-cutting is growing at an unexpected pace. Cable and telecom companies (Charter Communications, Comcast, Dish Network, and AT&T) lost hundred thousands of customers over the past year, as highlighted in their Q1 earnings reports, meanwhile Netflix quietly increases its monthly subscription fees to $13.99. The future of television programming seems to be up for grabs as Amazon Prime boasts 100m paying subscribers, Youtube TV, Facebook and Apple streaming services are all increasingly taking away market share from cable providers. Good news for you, cable prices will continue to drive down as the competition increases among all the entertainment providers.
Companies mentioned (performance in YTD): DISH (-30%), CHTR (-18%), CMCA (-20%), AMZN (+35%), GOOGL (-0.23%), AAPL (+9%)
U.S. Jobless Rate Falls Below 4% ā What Does it Mean For You? ā www.wsj.com
Unemployment in the U.S. has fallen to one of the lowest levels of the post-World War II era, the result of a historically long jobs expansion that shows little evidence of slowing. Employment rose in industries including manufacturing, healthcare, and accounting, adding a total 164,000 jobs. As new jobs are added monthly and workers become this scarce, employers raise wages quickly to recruit and retain employees. The construction sector has added 257,000 jobs over the past year and industry wages have grown 3.5%. This has spurned the battle for the employment market as small industrial towns across the US are using flashy incentives to attract millennials to relocate to their cities for jobs. Relocate to Hamilton (Ohio) and the city promises $5,000 to help pay student loans. Pack up for Grant County, Ind., and claim $5,000 toward buying a home. Settle in North Platte, Neb., and the chamber of commerce will hold a ceremony in your honor to present an even bigger check.
Facebook Wants To Be Your Dating Wingman(woman)
Facebook announced itās rolling out a new dating feature, sending shares in Match (owner of Tinder, Okcupid, and match.com) plunging. Facebook hopes that the feature would help connect people who arenāt Facebook friends and be for ābuilding real, long-term relationships ā not just for hookups. This news heavily impacted Match (falling 22 percent in a single day), while IAC fell 19 percent, the most since 2001.
Companies mentioned (performance in YTD): FB (0%), IAC (+8%), MTCH (+11%)
Snapchatās Redesign Causes Stock to Tank
Snap Inc. reported first-quarter sales that fell short of Wall Streetās projections after rolling out a redesign of its app, which wasnāt well embraced by users and therefore held back advertising growth. With revenues of $230.7m and daily active users reaching 191 million, the company endured a net loss of $385.8 million. To make Snapās problems worse, Facebook announced plans to invest more deeply in the āstoriesā function, which it copied from Snapchat. On WhatsApp, (owned by Facebook), a similar feature is used 450 million times a day.
Companies mentioned (performance in YTD): SNAP (-26%)
š šæāāļø For Da Culture š¤“š¾
Two Black Harvard Student Starts Investment Fund to Bridge The Minority Gap to Wall Street
JPMorgan, Bank of America, and big-name hedge funds are trying to diversify. BLK Capital wants to make it easier for them. Started by two Harvard freshmen, this organization has grown to an AUM of $92,000 while providing fellow black students the opportunity to learn successful trading techniques through money management and also providing them the qualifications and exposure to Wall Street internships.
Black Men Arrested at Starbucks Settle for $200,000 Entrepreneurs Program
The two black men who were arrested for sitting at a Philadelphia Starbucks without ordering anything settled with Starbucks for an undisclosed sum and an offer of a free college education. They reached a deal with the city officials to set up a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs, also their arrest records will be expunged.
Spend A Day in the Life of Sundial Brands Co-Founder
Richelieu Dennis, the Liberia-born beauty mogul who cofounded Sundial, which includes best-selling brands SheaMoisture and Nubian Heritage, from a small venture hawking homemade soap on Harlem street corners into a business the company says is valued at $1 billion, and the new owner of Essence Magazine.
Chart of the week
What Else Iām Currently Reading
- What You Missed at the Warren Buffett (aka Berkshireās) 2018 Shareholder Meeting This Weekend
- Wells Fargo is being investigated for guiding customers with shady 401k investment advice
- A ranking of the top 50 millennial cities across the U.S. based on diversity, job growth, social issues and more.
- How to get paid what you deserve and also break an NDA
- A small endowment fund manager whoās beaten Harvardās endowment fund using Index funds, for the last 10 years.
- A great Netflix documentary āPoverty Inc.ā on the shady economics of non-profits and NGOs. Great film!
- How to live in San Francisco without hardly spending any money
Resource of the Week
300 Free Online Ivy League University Courses To Take!
Eight Ivy League schools ā Brown, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth, Yale, and Columbia universities, and University of Pennsylvania ā now offer free online courses, ranging from Computer Science, Business & Management, Health & Medicine, Education & Teaching, and Engineering.
Music of the Week ā open.spotify.com
This weekās letter is curated while listening to āManandoā, an album by Emtee, a dope hiphop artist from Johannesburg, South Africa. With gritty lyrics, trap beats and tribal undertones, this album is a solid listen. My fav tracks: No More, Corner Store, Emazweni
Thank you for reading through this weekend round-up! Hope you found a couple interesting articles to spark your next happy hour or office water-cooler conversation.
Which article did you find most interesting this week?
Cheers,
Valentine
