Hey Snackers,
The days of playing a housekeeper at the Airbnb you already paid a cleaning fee for are over.
As part of a new global policy effective Nov. 20, Airbnb hosts will not be able to ask guests to do chores that require “significant effort” such as taking out the trash, stripping the sheets, or washing dishes. Hosts can still ask guests to leave dishes in the sink or, say, leave the trash in a bear-proof container when staying in a cabin, but Airbnb has finally drawn the line between being a considerate guest and working for your keep, after already paying for it.
Stocks had a particularly rough day on Thursday, with the S&P 500 falling 1.2% and the Nasdaq 100 dropping 2.6%, marking the tech-heavy index’s worst day since June.
Netflix posted a blockbuster third quarter with India taking a leading role
Despite posting a relatively strong third quarter where earnings came in above expectations and revenue landed roughly in line with estimates, Netflix has been sent lower this week after the streamer set a new Q4 sales forecast that was slimmer than Wall Street expected and tempered ad revenue estimates.
One silver lining among the clouds looming over the company from its Q3 report? India, which got six shoutouts in Netflix’s latest letter to shareholders; double the amount of references to the “US” or “United States.” Clearly the streamer has something to shout about in the Indian market, which sits in what is — currently, at least — the smallest global region for Netflix.
India sits in the company’s Asia Pacific region, which accounted for just $1.54 billion of its total $12.88 billion revenue figure from the third quarter. Still, the APAC segment’s position could change if the success in India continues, with Netflix adding more net paid subscribers in the nation than ever before, revenues rising 18%, and view hours up 24% from the same period last year.
The streamer highlighted “Lock Upp,” its first daily reality TV show, as a standout success in India, driving “the most viewing of any title on Netflix” in the country ever. Scripted hits like “Operation Safed Sagar” and “Musafir Cafe” also contributed to growth, as the company itself downsizes at a faster pace than it has since 2022.
The Takeaway
Doing better in the most populous nation in the world, which per the World Bank’s reckonings also still boasts one of the fastest growing major global economies, is obviously a boon for the world’s biggest film and TV streaming service. However, with at least some of the growth undoubtedly down to a generous tie-in with Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart — customers can get a free monthly Netflix Mobile subscription by spending ₹299 (~$3.15) on four individual orders in a single month — it might be a little early to put too much stock in the advance for now.
Weekly trips to the grocery store and restaurants are at their lowest levels since Gallup started asking in the US
According to the latest installment of an infrequent Gallup survey of US adults (the first since 2022), fewer of us are heading out to shop for groceries, eating out in restaurants, and even ordering takeout food, as the way Americans live week-to-week continues to shift.
Gallup noted that Americans are tending to spread their weekly grocery trips out a little further, while also highlighting the rise of online staple shopping, with 15% of Americans now doing a weekly grocery order online compared to just 4% less than 10 years ago.
Dining out and ordering takeout, despite the cursed online discourse around how it can sometimes work out cheaper than eating at home, have both declined of late. A still stunning — to this writer, at least — 4% of Americans still report that they never eat out at a restaurant.
That — or 278 billion kroner, to be more accurate — is how much Norway’s sovereign wealth fund lost over the last quarter, the company that manages the fund announced yesterday.
The loss was mostly owing to just how much of the world’s largest wealth fund’s fixed income portfolio is wrapped up in government bonds, with 70% allocated to the interest rate-hit investments.
Staggeringly, shedding $30 billion doesn’t actually put too much of a dent in the Norwegian wealth fund, which is still worth around $2.3 trillion, shedding the rough equivalent of an Adidas ($31.5B), 7-Eleven ($30.5B), or Reddit ($29.5B) in a single quarter still has to sting.
What else we’re Snackin’
Apple’s iPhone Duo, which folds out to the size of a small iPad, is “a messy, expensive, good time,” according to The Verge.
A combined SpaceX-Tesla may become subject to the “conglomerate discount” –– when a complex company with many diversified revenue streams becomes difficult for investors to size up, resulting in a lower valuation –– per Business Insider.
Meta’s board created a new class of shares so CEO Mark Zuckerberg could sell his shares to pay a proposed California wealth tax without losing his control of the company.