In this issue:
3 Big Stories
U.S. economy grows at fastest rate since 1984
Fed gets ready to raise interest rates
Netflix frustrated by India
CEO Interview - 3 Questions with Ryan Roslansky
3 Things To Look For Next Week
3 Big Stories
U.S. economy grows at fastest rate since 1984
The U.S. economy grew 5.7% in 2021, the fastest full-year clip since 1984; creating 6.4 million jobs but also accelerating inflation in the process, which like Snoop Dogg, is at a 40 year high.
However, growth is expected to slow in 2022 as the federal government scales back spending, the Fed raises interest rates and Jeff Bezos dials back spending on yacht s, space and divorce.
Democrats attributed such robust growth to Joe Biden’s economic policy but Republicans complained that economic growth has a liberal bias.
The GOP wants to abolish the U.S. Department of Education in a bid to lower literacy rates so that fewer Americans can read about such strong economic performance.
Fed gets ready to raise interest rates
The Federal Reserve has signaled it will raise interest rates - citing rising inflation - but has kept them near zero for now.
Said Fed Chairman Jerome Powell “we’ve had interest rates near zero for so long that Americans think interest rates are a metaphor for their chances of social mobility”
The Fed has indicated that rates will rise around March, not for economic reasons, but because Americans are pre-disposed to expect increases in March as it is the month when daylight savings time starts.
Netflix frustrated by India
India, a country of 1.4 billion, has just 100 million streaming subscribers because most Indians are guilted into sharing a subscription with their 25 first cousins, which limits Netflix’s addressable market.
Netflix has 5.5 million paying subscribers, far behind the competition: Disney+ Hotstar (46 million) and Amazon Prime Video (19 million).
As a result, Netflix has slashed prices in India in a bid to attract new subscribers. Should this fail, the company will try to boost its fortunes through political means by renaming itself ‘Narendra’.
Interview: 3 Questions with Ryan Roslansky
Q: Congrats on another record quarter at Linkedin. As CEO, what do you attribute this success to?
RR: Honestly - it’s all thanks to Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook has gone further down the Nazi rabbit hole. And so ordinary, insecure, non-Nazi Americans trying to valid their existence by impressing strangers have turned to Linkedin.
Q: How has this influenced Linkedin’s plans?
RR: Well we’ve had so many users post about their personal lives on Linkedin over the past few years that the largest adjacent opportunity is clear. That’s why I’m excited to announce the launch of Linkedin for Dogs.
Q: Um, Linkedin for Dogs? What does the entail exactly?
RR: It’s a forum to connect the world’s dogs to make them more lovable and less slobbery. It’s just like Linkedin for humans except that we replaced like, comment and applause functions with bark, growl and butt sniff. My dog Rex just posted:
I’m so excited to my continue journey as a dog by announcing that my owner has given me my own kennel! When I was a puppy competing for my parents’ attention with 10 other puppies, I never thought I would have my own toys let alone my own kennel. But hard work pays off and now many years later, I’ve been promoted to kennel owner.
I couldn’t have done this without everyone who supported me along this journey, especially PetSmart for supplying my meals, Central Park for giving me a place to run and a place to poop, and my dog walker for introducing me to my Larissa the beautiful shiba to whom I am now engaged.
#doglife #kennelowner #prouddoggie #dogsoflinkedin
3 Things To Look For Next Week
Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema argue that Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s replacement should be nominated by Donald Trump
Jeff Bezos bills his LA dinner with Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson to California taxpayers
Mark Zuckerberg offers to prove that he’s human by taking a DNA test