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Wall Street is drifting on Friday toward the finish of its third winning week in the last four, as more big U.S. companies deliver stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher in morning trading after setting its all-time high the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 107 points, or 0.2%, as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.2% after coming off its own record. Norfolk Southern chugged 3% higher after an AP source said its talking with Union Pacific about a merger to create the largest railroad in North America, one that would connect the East and West coasts. Any such deal, though, would likely face tough scrutiny from U.S. regulators. Union Pacifics stock fell 1%. Netflix, meanwhile, dropped 5.7% despite reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than Wall Street expected. Analysts said its not a surprise the stock was sluggish after it had already soared 43% for the year so far, coming into the day. Thats six times more than the gain for the S&P 500. It was the single heaviest weight on the S&P 500. Stronger-than-expected profit reports for the spring helped several other stocks rally. Charles Schwab climbed 3.1%, Regions Financial rose 4.5% and Comerica added 1.7%. Chevron climbed 0.5% after saying it had completed its acquisition of Hess. The buyout got its go-ahead following a favorable arbitration ruling for Chevron about some of Hess assets off Guyanas coast. In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after a report suggested U.S. consumers may be feeling less fearful about coming inflation. They’re bracing for inflation of 4.4% in the year ahead, down from last month’s projection of 5%, according to preliminary results from the University of Michigan’s survey. That’s important because expectations for high inflation can feed into behaviors that create a vicious cycle keeping inflation high. Overall sentiment, meanwhile, was a hair better than economists expected but still well below its historical average. Consumers are unlikely to regain their confidence in the economy unless they feel assured that inflation is unlikely to worsen, for example if trade policy stabilizes for the foreseeable future, according to Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director. The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 4.43% from 4.47% late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with its short-term rates, also dropped. It fell to 3.87% from 3.91%. A top Fed official, Gov. Chris Waller, said late Thursday that the Fed should cut its overnight interest rate as soon as its next meeting in a couple weeks. That follows sharp criticism from President Donald Trump, who has been castigating the Fed for holding interest rates steady this year instead of cutting them, as it did late last year. Lower rates could give the economy a boost, and Trump has also implied they could help the U.S. government save money on its debt payments, though thats uncertain. The interest rates Washington has to pay on its longer-term debt can depend more on what bond investors think than on what the Fed does, and they can even move in opposite directions. The chair of the Fed, meanwhile, has been insisting that he wants to see more data about how Trumps tariffs will affect the economy and inflation before the Fed makes its next move. The downside of lower interest rates is that they can give inflation more fuel, and prices may already be starting to feel the upward effects of tariffs. Traders on Wall Street still think its much more likely that the Fed will resume cutting interest rates in September, rather than later this month, according to data from CME Group. In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. Hong Kongs Hang Seng jumped 1.4%, but Tokyos Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2% ahead of an election for the upper house of parliament on Sunday that could wipe out the ruling coalitions upper house majority. Stan Choe, Associated Press AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.
Category:
E-Commerce
The business model for movie theaters has been under threat since at least the 1980s with the widespread adoption of the VHS. DVDs, streaming, and the COVID-19 pandemic have only compounded the issue. According to Octane Seating, 63% of Americans watch movies at home, which isnt happy news for big chains such as AMC, Cinemark, and Regal. This is in addition to video games, smartphones, prestige TV, and every other form of media that competes for your attention in the 21st century. Popular movie chains have been forced to get creative to stay afloat. Tactics such as luxury reclining chairs and top-shelf alcohol havent been enough. A new controversial way to bring in needed revenue is to add additional non-trailer advertisements in the preshow, increasing the length from 1520 minutes to 30. So if you want to see a summer blockbuster flick, plan accordingly. Lets take a look at the timeline for this change and if it has impacted audience behavior. Cinemark and Regal lead the way In 2019, Cinemark and Regal reached an agreement with National CineMedia to add additional commercials in the preshow slot. One of these was dubbed a platinum spot and would play right before the attached trailers. The movie chains reportedly received 25% of the revenue collected from these prominently displayed ads. National CineMedia CEO Tom Lesinski promised that this would not deter audiences, as a similar practice was already standard in Europe. We dont believe it will be a significant issue for exhibitors or consumers, he explained in an interview with Deadline at the time. AMC jumps on the longer preshow bandwagon AMC initially rejected the idea, but six years later is changing its tune. On July 1, AMC joined Cinemark and Regal. The chain also made sure its patrons were aware of the change by emphasizing it in a disclaimer for ticket buyers. When news of AMCs change of policy broke, the movie chain issued a statement explaining the decision. AMC claims this change will not keep audiences away from theaters but doesnt explicitly say anything about watching trailers. While AMC was initially reluctant to bring this to our theatres, our competitors have fully participated for more than five years without any direct impact to their attendance, the statement explained. This is a strong indication that this NCM preshow initiative does not negatively influence moviegoing habits. How has this impacted the audience? While theater chains may claim the practice hasn’t impacted attendance, the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic and entertainment industry strikes make it difficult to isolate the exact reason for any changes in audience behavior. Thanks in part to the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon of two summers ago, 2023 was the best summer box office since all of this drama came about, bringing in $13.6 billion globally. Last year, meanwhile, saw a 10.3% decline domestically over 2023, according to Comscore. In June of this year, as reported by Deadline, Gower Street Analytics predicted the summer season would make around $12.4 billion in global box office revenue. Moviegoers appear to be holding steady. However, even though audiences are still showing up, they are starting to skip the trailers. According to Steve Bucks firm EntTelligence, only 60% of audiences were present for them this year. The numbers get lower in the movie-centric cities of Los Angeles and New York. Only 42% of Angelino cinephiles were present for every trailer, down from 55% last year. Only 42% of New Yorkers saw each trailer, down 5% from the previous year. These statistics to reveal a potential catch-22. While theater chains have to stay open to new sources of revenue, they may risk repeat business as fewer audience members are exposed to their full slate of coming attractions. What if a trailer plays in a movie theater and no one sees it? What good does it do? Tom Rothman, Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman and CEO, mused to Deadline. Its incredibly self-defeating and shortsighted. Since the beginning of the movie business, the single best inducement to see movies is trailers in movie theaters. And now, nobody sees them. Only questions remain. Will the skipping the trailers trend continue and even grow? Will this lead to opting out of going to the movie theater altogether? Time will tell. For now, be armed with the knowledge that you have extra time to get your popcorn without missing the movie should you so choose.
Category:
E-Commerce
My dedication was questioned. Managers or upper management have looked down upon taking time off. People think that maybe youre not as invested in the job, that youre shirking your duties or something. These are just a few of the responses to questions I asked during a study I conducted on vacation guilt among American workers. More than 88% of full-time, private sector workers in the U.S. receive paid time off. This benefit is ostensibly in place to improve employee morale and well-being. Yet a 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that nearly half of American workers dont take all the vacation days theyve been allotted. And many of them feel as if theyre discouraged from using their time off. Ironically, whats supposed to be a source of relaxation and restoration morphs into a stressor: As vacations approach, feelings of doubt and guilt creep in. Im from Singapore. Upon moving to the U.S. in 2016, I was surprised at how pervasive vacation guilt appeared to be. Compared with many of the other countries where Ive lived or worked, American culture seems to prioritize mental health and wellness. I assumed these attitudes extended to the American workplace. Surprisingly, though, I noticed that many of my American friends felt guilty about taking time off that theyd earned. So as a scholar of tourism and hospitality, I wanted to understand how and why this happened. Vacation guilt To carry out the study, I collaborated with tourism scholar Robert Li. We interviewed 15 workers who had experienced feelings of guilt over taking time off. We also administered an online survey to 860 full-time employees who received paid time off from their employers. We wanted to know whether employees felt less respected or believed that their bosses and colleagues saw them in a worse light for taking time off. Maybe they feared being seen as slackers or, worse, replaceable. We found that 1 in 5 respondents to our survey experienced vacation guilt, and these concerns made them think twice about following through with their vacation plans. For those who eventually did take a vacation, they often tried to ease their guilt by going for fewer days. They might also apologize for taking a vacation or avoid talking about their vacation plans at work. Some of the people we interviewed had pushed through their hesitation and taken their vacation as planned. Yet all of these employees believed that theyd been penalized for taking time off and that it led to poor performance reviews, despite the fact that their paid vacation days had been a clearly articulated, earned benefit. The U.S. is an outlier The U.S. is the only advanced economy that doesnt legally mandate a minimum number of vacation days. On top of that, only a handful of states require workers to be compensated for their unused vacation days. Meanwhile, the law in other advanced economies entitles employees to a minimum amount of annual paid leave. The EU, for example, mandates at least 20 days per year on top of paid public holidays, such as Christmas and New Years Day, with a number of EU member countries requiring more than 20 days of paid vacation for full-time employees. Even in Japan, which is notorious for its workaholic culture, employees are entitled to a minimum of 10 days of paid leave every year. Throughout much of the U.S., whether paid vacation time is offered at all depends on an employers generosity, while many employees face a use-it-or-lose-it situation, meaning unused vacation days dont roll over from one year to the next. Of course, not all workers experience vacation guilt. Nonetheless, the guilt that so many workers do feel may be symbolic of broader issues: an unhealthy workplace culture, a toxic boss or a weak social safety net. For paid time off to serve its purpose, I think employers need to provide more than vacation days. They also need to have a supportive culture that readily encourages employees to use this benefit without having to worry about repercussions. Karen Tan is an assistant professor of tourism and hospitality management at Middle Tennessee State University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Category:
E-Commerce
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