Amazon's Grocery Gamble, All Eyes on Netflix Earnings
Amazon opens its first fully automated grocery store in Seattle on Monday. In this cashier-less model, the consumer picks items and leaves the store without ever having to pull out their wallet. Amazon's technology senses what items were purchased, and then charges the customer's account. Amazon's new grocery store is called Amazon Go.
Netflix gets ready to report Q4 earnings after a very successful 2017. Beyond looking at the company's revenue growth, investors will be watching for subscriber growth, particularly at the international level. Last year, Netflix shares grew by 65%.
And Twitter COO Anthony Noto is reportedly considering a new job. Reports swirled over the weekend that Noto may leave the social media company for SoFi, the personal finance company. Noto is considered one of the most important executives at Twitter.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
