Good Evening! On Friday, the stock market saw a decline, marking the end of a challenging month, as financial professionals analyzed the latest data about the Federal Reserve’s favored measure of inflation.
Sadly the S&P 500 & the Dow Jones lost their momentum and ended in the red by 0.27% and 0.47%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite regained at the end by being up 0.14%.
ALL THINGS MUST COME TO AN END
Today marks the end of a quarter-century-long practice as Netflix (NFLX) concludes its distribution of physical media by dispatching its last DVD. The firm is seeing a decline in profitability compared to its previous state, prompting Netflix to seek cost reduction measures in response to the costly competition within the streaming industry. However, the current success of Netflix would not have happened without the significant contribution of DVDs. Here are some interesting facts to look back on:
- The first DVD sent by Netflix in 1998 was the Tim Burton film “Beetlejuice“.
- According to The New York Times, during its peak period of DVD service, Netflix held the position of the United States Postal Service’s fifth-largest client, with a weekly processing volume of 1.2 million DVDs.
- A total profit of $2.6 billion was realized throughout the period spanning from 2012 to 2019.
The termination of the DVD service was an anticipated outcome… Nonetheless, a considerable number of about one million subscribers expressed their disappointment at its discontinuation. In addition, Netflix has provided a gesture of goodwill to its devoted subscribers by allowing them to keep their last physical DVD rentals.
SALTWATER INTRUSION
The intrusion of saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico into the Mississippi River is resulting in the contamination of drinking water in several districts in Louisiana, while also posing a potential danger to the city of New Orleans.
What is causing this? A persistent layer of saltwater originating from the Gulf of Mexico is consistently seen under the freshwater flow of the Mississippi River. Typically, the flow of the river exerts a downstream force on the saltwater, therefore maintaining its proximity to the river’s mouth. However, the decreased precipitation throughout the summer season has resulted in a reduction in the typical volume of water flowing in the river, facilitating the upstream movement of the saltwater.
Will there be any help? The local authorities are providing reassurances to the residents on the availability of enough supply of bottled water and urging them to refrain from engaging in the act of depleting grocery shelves. A group is also engaged in efforts to prevent the flow of saltwater by increasing the height of a pre-existing underwater barrier. Additionally, there are plans to transfer freshwater from a farther upstream location.