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Here’s what you need to know
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is stepping down. After a two-decade run, he’s leaving the streaming platform in the hands of co-CEO Ted Sarandos and COO Greg Peters after reporting a strong end to 2022.
The EU fined WhatsApp nearly $6 million (€5.5 million). Authorities found the Meta platform violated the bloc’s privacy laws just weeks after Facebook and Instagram were handed similar penalties.
… and the US fined Virgin Atlantic $1.1 million (£870,000). The British airline said it accidentally breached a US ban on flying over Iraqi airspace.
King Charles asked the Crown Estate’s wind farm profits be given away. The monarch said an expected windfall should go toward public coffers, not the royal family, amid a cost-of-living crisis.
A million people in France rallied against raising the retirement age. Demonstrators across the nation protested president Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform plans.
JPMorgan and Standard Chartered gained permission to expand in China. Beijing has ramped up efforts to welcome in foreign companies since lifting its zero-covid policy.
Indian wrestling is having its MeToo moment. Athletes have accused Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual misconduct.
What to watch for
Anti-abortion activists are gathering in Washington DC today (Jan. 20) for the annual “March for Life.” The protest has been held every year since the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v Wade in 1973, which made abortion legal in the US.
But since Roe v Wade was overturned in June 2022, anti-abortion activists won’t be setting their sights on the Supreme Court as usual. They will march instead to the US Capitol—a switch that symbolizes how the fight over abortion is shifting from a legal to a legislative one.
While the overturning of Roe v Wade was a major setback for the pro-choice movement, it led to significant victories for pro-choice ballot initiatives during the November midterms. Vice president Kamala Harris will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Roe v Wade on Jan. 22 at an event in Florida supporting the pro-abortion movement.
To share or to hold?
When it comes to improving a company’s performance, shareholders are in it to win it… until it comes to achieving environmental and social change, it seems.
A new report finds that some of the biggest asset managers in the world—Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and State Street, to name a few—are backing only a small, and shrinking, percentage of shareholder resolutions that seek to improve companies’ treatment of employees, and offset their environmental impact.
Asset managers argue that there are now too many shareholder resolutions, and they’re too prescriptive. Still, the onus is on shareholders to question how much responsibility they have, compared to boards, managers, or governments, to make companies better.
Want to know how asset managers stack up on ESG? Quartz reporters Amanda Shendruk and Cassie Werber have a chart for you.
Davos dispatch: 👴🏻 Klaus Schwab is never retiring
German chancellor Olaf Scholz wrapped up his keynote on Wednesday (Jan. 18) in Davos with a bold prediction:
“My successor will address you at the World Economic Forum in 2045. He or she will present Germany as one of the world’s first climate-neutral industrial nations. Energy supplies in Germany and Europe will then be sourced almost exclusively from green electricity, heat, and hydrogen. We will be moving emission free on our roads and railroads. Our buildings will be energy efficient. Our businesses will be producing on a climate-neutral basis.”
When the speech ended, 84-year-old WEF chairman Klaus Schwab didn’t miss a beat: “I just want to say I look forward to chairing this session with your successor.”
✦ Sign up for our Need to Know: Davos 2023 newsletter to read about other standout moments from WEF, including what the author who coined the term “metaverse” in 1992 has to say about it now. And while you’re at it, grab a Quartz membership at 50% off.
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Surprising discoveries
Netflix is offering a sky-high salary to work on a private jet. The streaming service is looking to pay a flight attendant up to $385,000.
The days of vervet monkeys on Sint Maarten are numbered. It has decided to cull the entire invasive species in its territory.
“The Times (New Roman) are a-Changin” at the US State Department. The agency is ditching Times New Roman for Calibri to improve accessibility.
Over half of people are eating snacks in place of meals. It’s all in Mondelez’s “State of Snacking” report, and Quartz has one explanation as to why.
Coffee pods may not have deserved getting roasted. Drip coffee actually has a bigger carbon footprint.
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