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July 18, 2017 by Douglas A. McIntyreNetflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) blew past expectations as it added 5.2 million subscribers in the second quarter. The news shows that Netflix is squarely in the lead of the global streaming video sector, both inside and outside the U.S.
Wild speculation about delays in the release of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 8 grew. Presumably, a late release would cut into sales expectations for 2017. Many of the rumored delays are based on the assumption that Apple does not have a large enough supply of key components or that engineers have discovered a major flaw in one of its features.
Investor firm BlackRock Inc. commented that worries about the U.S. political landscape have hurt demand for risky investments. According to CNBC:
Market fundamentals look fairly strong, but political fears have held investor spirits in check, Kate Moore, chief equity strategist at BlackRock Investment Institute, told CNBC on Tuesday.
“There’s been a tremendous amount of anxiety about taking equity risk so far this year,” she said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” adding that the fear came despite “pretty good” earnings.
Google, a division of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), has been told to release records about women’s compensation to a court probing discrimination. According to USAToday:
A judge has ordered Google to hand over employee records to federal investigators probing the alleged gender pay gap at the Internet giant.
Google must provide the Labor Department with contact data for up to 8,000 employees to investigate whether the Silicon Valley company shortchanges women doing similar work to men, according to Friday’s provisional ruling by Steven Berlin, an administrative law judge in San Francisco.
Venezuela’s government reserves have dropped to $10 billion as the country struggles with insolvency. According to CNNMoney:
Venezuela’s cushion of cash fell to its lowest point in over 20 years amid the nation’s political turmoil.
Foreign reserves — funds meant to weather tough economic times — fell below $10 billion for the first time since 1995, according to central bank data published Sunday. Venezuela, which has more proved oil reserves than any other country, was once the richest country in Latin America.
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