Media

6 Most Important Things in Business Today

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: November 1, 2018 5:21 am

Last Updated: March 13, 2020 3:24 pm

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) said its cars will add a new feature. According to Reuters:

An upgrade to Tesla Inc’s ‘Summon’ auto-parking feature will be ready within six weeks and will allow its vehicles to drive around a parking lot, find an empty spot and read parking signs, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal made an estimate of gun ownership in the United States, which put the number as high as 256 million. According to the paper:

The survey concluded 22% of adults in the U.S. owned a gun, and each person owned 4.8 guns on average.

Subaru and Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) issued huge recalls. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Toyota Motor Corp. and Subaru Corp. said they would recall more than 400,000 vehicles world-wide to repair a faulty engine part that could cause a car to stall while driving.

The recall affects some of Subaru’s most popular models, like the Forester sport-utility vehicle and Impreza, as well as the BRZ sports car. Toyota is recalling the Subaru-made 86 and Scion FR-S sports car.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) will release three of its original movies in theaters, a departure from normal streaming releases. According to The New York Times:

Netflix softened its longstanding view on movie distribution, saying late Wednesday that it would release three prestige movies in a way that it had repeatedly said was a nonstarter — in cinemas first, and on the streaming service later.

A limited number of theaters in the United States and overseas will receive an exclusive period of one to three weeks to play the films, which include Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma,” a black-and-white drama hailed as a masterpiece by critics who have seen it at festivals. After that, Netflix will make the films available for streaming.

Americans are willing to skip higher pay for better benefits. According to Bloomberg:

The study’s survey data show switching from a job with the worst mix of non-wage characteristics — such as no paid time off, heavy physical activity and inflexible hours — to the best mix is equivalent to an overall 56.1 percent wage increase.

Almost 40 percent of respondents preferred a relatively lower-wage job with flexible hours and telecommuting over one without such perks, the research showed. Setting one’s own schedule is equivalent to a 9 percent pay bump, while autonomy at work is worth 3.8 percent of the wage relative to a position with well-defined tasks.

Google employees walked out over sexual harassment claims. According to CNBC:

Hundreds of Google employees in more than 20 offices around the world are staging walk-outs to protest what organizers describe as “a workplace culture that’s not working for everyone.”

The demonstrations — set for 11:10 a.m. at each local time — come in in the wake of an explosive New York Times’ report that detailed how Google shielded executives accused of sexual misconduct, either by keeping them on staff or allowing them amicable departures. For example, Google reportedly paid Android leader Andy Rubin a $90 million exit package despite asking for his resignation after finding sexual misconduct claims against him credible. (Through a spokesperson, Rubin denied any misconduct and on Twitter he called his reported compensation a “wild exaggeration.”)