Want to see what’s happening this week in the news? Here is our weekly roundup of the most relevant articles of the week.
EU SLAPS $5 BILLION FINE ON GOOGLE (July 18, 2018) The European Commission has found that Google abused its power in the industry by forcing Android operating system, which runs more than 80% of the world’s smartphones, to promote the company’s search engine. Currently, most Android phones come preloaded with Google apps, users download more apps from the Google Play Store and Google profits from ads across all platforms. The tech giant has been given 90 days to make changes to their policy.
GLITCHES DON’T STOP AMAZON SALES (July 17, 2018). The fourth annual Prime Day had a few glitches, but that didn’t stop Amazon from making an estimated $3.4 billion over the day and a half of deals. Amazon’s competitors tried to keep up by offering free shipping and other discounts without a membership but Amazon still prevailed with their $119 Prime membership.
DISNEY TOPS NETFLIX AS MOST VALUABLE MEDIA COMPANY (July 16, 2018) Netflix shares dropped 14 percent after missing predicted subscriber projections by about a million last quarter. This drop in shares caused Disney to reclaim its spot as the most valuable media company. Currently Disney is at $166.8 billion and Netflix is trailing behind at $153.8 billion. A potential reason for this decrease is the lack of new ‘binge-worthy’ content (i.e. “Stranger Things”). Netflix did release two new international dramas this quarter but that didn’t do enough to boost international streaming revenue. Netflix has also revealed that its marketing budget for 2018 is $2 billion are on budget with $1 billion spent so far.
MOBILE BAKING IS TAKING OVER (July 16, 2018). Bank of America has just announced that mobile deposits have outperformed deposits made in branches. It’s not just millennial’s switching to mobile, all ages are opting to use their smartphones for their banking needs. With more users turning to online banking, Bank of America is closing more branches to save on unnecessary costs. Other banks are following suit by closing more branches and renovating current branches instead of building new locations.
WEWORK GIVES UP MEAT (July 14, 2018) WeWork, the shared workspace company, has recently gone vegetarian in an attempt to lessen the company’s carbon footprint. In addition to omitting meat from their menu at events, they will no longer reimburse employees for meals that contain meat unless it is for a medical or religious reason.