Netflix's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos suggested that the streaming service is considering boycotting Georgia in light of the state's "fetal heartbeat" abortion ban, the NYT reports.
Why it matters: Netflix isn't making a concrete promise, but it is the first major Hollywood studio to make a public statement as other film industry figures pledge to boycott the state following its restrictive abortion ban.
Alibaba is considering a $20 billion secondary offering in Hong Kong, five years after raising $25 billion via an IPO in New York, according to Bloomberg.
What to watch: First, this may be as much about rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China as it is about raising capital. Floating in Hong Kong could further strengthen ties between Alibaba and Beijing, while also providing some regulatory risk mitigation in the U.S.
The Media Rating Council (MRC), the de facto watchdog for media measurement, is inching closer towards implementing a single standard for measuring video across all platforms.
Why it matters: Media, marketing and entertainment companies have been trying for years to come up with a universally-accepted standard that would allow advertisers to compare video metrics across social media, TV and everything in between.
Investors have been flummoxed by the latest development out of Argentina, that former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will run for vice president rather than president, as most had expected.
What's happening: While investors worried aloud that a Kirchner presidential victory in October's election would cause the country's bonds to default, torpedo its stock market and further sink its depreciating currency (already worth about one-third of what it was just a few years ago), the curve ball of a Kirchner vice presidency has so far gotten market approval.
Rare earth minerals and elements are necessary components of tech and defense tools, including smartphones, LED lights, wind turbines and nuclear rods. And their critical role in modern manufacturing has turned them into the latest lightning rod in the trade war between China and the U.S.
Driving the news: After President Trump blacklisted Chinese tech company Huawei and threatened to target other Chinese tech firms by disallowing American companies to do business with them, China signaled it could target rare earth minerals.
Chinese tourism to the U.S. fell last year for the first time in 15 years, dropping 5.7% in 2018 to 2.9 million visitors, the AP reports.
Driving the news: Alongside the U.S.-China trade war, China issued a travel warning for the U.S. last summer, warning its citizens to be cautious of robberies, shootings and high medical costs. China's economic uncertainty has also encouraged potential vacationers to stay closer to home.
A $15 per hour minimum wage has become a national U.S. rallying cry from workers seeking middle-class security. But while double the current minimum, $15 has its own limitations — and risks uncontemplated social consequences.
Why it matters: A $15 wage may be enough to buy a small home in some parts of the U.S., and will increase the living standards of millions of Americans. But what's apparent on the map above is that it is barely sufficient for a studio apartment in the big cities, and it could upset workers already earning $15 and more.
