BUSINESS NEWS APRIL 19TH, 2016
The stock market turned in a mixed performance Tuesday but it was still enough to push the benchmark S&P 500 above the 2100 level for the first time since December. The Dow Jones industrial average pushed further above 18,000 after crossing that level Monday for the first time since July. The Dow and Standard & Poor's 500 posted their fifth gain out of the past six sessions. The Dow ended up 0.3% at 18,054, less than 300 points from its record closing high of 18,312.39 set last May. The S&P 500 gained 0.3% to 2100.80. The Nasdaq composite continues to lag and fell 0.4%. Crude oil prices advanced following a drop in the previous session despite a failure by oil-producing nations to agree on limiting output at a weekend meeting in Qatar.
The bad news: your Netflix subscription is going to cost $10 per month. The good news: that rate will take longer to take effect depending on how long you have been a member. Netflix plans to include subscribers to its current standard HD plan which costs $9 a month, along with older subscribers who pay $8 a month. They call the strategy “un-grandfathering”. It’s an impressive way of demonstrating Netflix’s customer loyalty, allowing them to choose one of two options, or giving them the option to drop the service entirely. Customers can choose the $8 a month plan, which allows standard viewing, but only on one screen, or the $12 a month plan which allows HD streaming and video on four screens simultaneously.
INDIA'S GROWTH FASTEST: JAITLEY NOW COUNTERS RAJAN'S COMMENT
Finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday that India’s economic growth this year could outpace estimates and accelerate to as much as 8.5% if the monsoon keeps its date with the country after back-to-back years of drought.At a meeting with investors in New York, Jaitley also spoke about the government’s reforms agenda and the challenges the economy confronts in sustaining high growth.India’s economy could grow by 8-8.5% in 2016-17, if forecasts of normal monsoon rainfall prove correct, Jaitley said at the meeting organized by Citigroup Inc.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) last week projected monsoon rainfall this year at 106% of the long-term average after two consecutive years of below-normal rainfall in many parts of the country.
AKBAR HOSSAIN: REALIZING THE AMERICAN DREAM
Akbar Hossain’s father found work as a welder in Saudi Arabia, resulting in their move there from Bangladesh. Six years later, Hossain’s mother won a “diversity visa” lottery at the mall, and the family was able to move to the United States. They landed in Norristown Pennsylvania. Hossain is now a student at the University of Pennsylvania, and the recipient of scholarships that have helped to pay for his education. He says that it was the generous nature of his community that helped him thrive. When his father died, Norristown covered the family’s costs until Hossain’s mother was able to. As a result, Hossain was able to continue his studies and eventually study law at UPenn. He hopes to become a legal advocate for immigrants.