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Netflix Will No Longer Borrow, Ending Its Run of Debt

Last quarter, one of Netflix’s most watched series was season four of The Crown, which has attracted more than 100 million households since the series began. His biggest film for this period was The Midnight Sky, the science fiction drama directed by George Clooney that has been viewed by 72 million households.

All of the debt that Netflix has amassed has enabled it to change its film schedule for 2021, when 70 new films are due to be released, more than one new film a week. The lineup features a collection of stars that can rival any Hollywood studio, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Dwayne Johnson, Idris Elba, Zendaya, Jennifer Lawrence, Gal Gadot, Naomi Watts, and Octavia Spencer.

There are still risks to Netflix’s cash-operated alley to streaming dominance. Hollywood has finally caught up, and much bigger companies like Walt Disney Company with Disney + and AT&T with HBO Max are now placing big bets on streaming, giving consumers more choice and threatening Netflix’s market share.

The continued emergence of new competitors with ViacomCBS’s Paramount + on March 4, and the continued strength of Amazon Prime Video and Hulu have resulted in a series of “switching” processes with consumers switching on and off various streaming services from month to month turn off . According to a study by consulting firm Deloitte, more people cancel their favorite shows on one service and then subscribe to another.

The January 2020 survey found that 20 percent of those who had paid for a streaming service canceled it the previous year. By October, when new services were brought to life, nearly half, or 46 percent, had stopped at least one of the services in the past six months.

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Biden to choose North Carolina environmental regulator to run EPA

Michael Regan listens as North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announces that Regan will lead the North Carolina Environmental Quality Department at Executive Manson in Raleigh, NC on January 3, 2017.

Chuck Liddy | AP

President-elect Joe Biden will select Michael Regan, secretary for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, to head the Environmental Protection Agency, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.

Regan, 44, was Biden’s front runner and, if confirmed, will be the first black to head the agency.

Regan previously worked at the EPA for the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations and was the national program manager responsible for developing programs to improve energy efficiency, air quality and reduce air pollution.

Regan later worked at the Environmental Defense Fund, where he made efforts to contain the effects of climate change and air pollution.

He will play a crucial role in supporting Biden’s aggressive plan to combat global warming and transform the US economy from fossil fuels to clean energy. Regan is also expected to be heavily involved in environmental racism.

“Regan has dedicated his career to environmental work, promoting clean energy, combating climate change and tackling coal ash pollution,” said Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice, an environmental law nonprofit. “As the EPA administrator, Regan will play a key role in solving the climate crisis and protecting the health of all communities.”

Biden also intends to appoint Rep. Deb Haaland, DN.M., as his Home Secretary. If this were confirmed, Haaland would be the first Native American to be appointed cabinet secretary. She would oversee the management and conservation of the land’s public land and natural resources, as well as the restoration of land that the Trump administration had opened up for drilling and other construction.

Read more from CNBC environment:
Joe Biden’s climate protection agenda faces an uncertain future in the Senate
Biden will rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. Here’s what happens next

Biden has vowed to reintroduce the U.S. to the Paris Agreement and bring the country to net zero emissions by 2050, though his climate agenda will face immense constraints if Republicans retain control of the Senate.

In the past four years, the Trump administration has dismantled more than 70 key environmental regulations, with nearly 30 in the works.

“Regan will take over the helm of the EPA at perhaps the most critical moment in the agency’s history, and he has to do a lot more than just clean up the toxic mess Trump left behind,” said Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biodiversity.

If the GOP retains control of the Senate and hinders climate legislation, Biden’s plans will depend on the EPA to implement regulations to reduce fossil fuel emissions from sites and automobiles.

The Biden government is already planning to put restrictions on oil and gas drilling on public properties, block pipelines across the country and withdraw many of Trump’s executive orders for energy.

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Business

What Occurs to the Unemployed When the Checks Run Out

Poverty, which actually declined in the early months of the pandemic – reflecting the extraordinary relief that the CARES Act offers in spring and early summer – has declined with a vengeance. According to estimates by Bruce D. Meyer of the University of Chicago, James X. Sullivan of the University of Notre Dame, and Jeehoon Han of Zhejiang University, 11.4 percent of Americans were living below the official poverty line by October, down from 9.3 Percent in June.

The checking accounts of the unemployed also reflect this reversal of wealth since the early stages of the CARES Act discharge, according to an analysis by researchers at the JPMorgan Chase Institute and the University of Chicago. Your account balance more than doubled from January to July, aided by the extra unemployment benefits and the economic impact review. Expressed as a percentage, their profit was much higher than that of employees who kept their jobs. Their spending increased too, peaking in July.

By late August, the last month the researchers tracked the unemployed ‘s finances, their median bank balances had shrunk by about a third since July, and lost most of the pillow that had built up since March.

“The typical family still has some cash buffer,” said Fiona Greig, co-president of the JPMorgan Chase Institute, “but it’s falling sharply.”

Regular unemployment insurance in the United States remains one of the least generous in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. It usually drops to zero after six months, unless there are exceptional legal provisions. In Denmark or Portugal, on the other hand, unemployment benefits replace around two percent of lost wages by workers, even two years after they have lost their jobs.

In the US, according to the OECD, unemployment benefits make up around 20 percent of the average income of a family with two children. In Germany and Ireland they are over 50 percent.

Emergency laws like the CARES Act have given unemployed American workers a temporary boost in times of crisis. Unless Congress takes new action in the coming days, the safety net will revert to its previous state. Millions will fall through the cracks.