Yahoo Finance After Math: Quick, throw some money at it
A little cash infusion never hurt anybody.
With federal unemployment benefits expiring this weekend, millions of people unemployed by the COVID-19 pandemic are set to lose the $600 weekly lifeline they have relied upon since the start of the outbreak. But just because there’s apparently no money available to help everyday people, corporations and the wealthy have plenty of cash to splash around. Just look at out this week’s headlines.
Logic signs seven-figure Twitch deal days after 'retiring' from music
Phew, after releasing five full albums and spending a decade in the music industry, I was afraid that Logic would be forced to get a dreaded 9 to 5 in order to support his new family. But thankfully, he’s landed on his feet and is now making seven figures by letting people watch him play video games on Twitch. Be sure to regale your local octogenarian Walmart greeter with this tale, they’re sure to appreciate it.
The New York Times is buying the maker of hit podcast series 'Serial'
The NYT taught us all a valuable lesson on opportunity costs this week. Why spend the time and effort to develop a quality podcast in-house when you can sipky spend around $50 million to buy one of the most famous podcast production studios in the business? Let’s see how long the Times can go without gutting Serial Productions like they just did Wirecutter.
Google is granting another $4 million towards affordable Bay Area housing
You know your business has Scrooge McDuck money when you can follow up a billion dollar commitment to Bay Area housing with an additional $4 million to help fund local homeless services the very next year. Though if there’s one thing Silicon Valley has proven adept at, it’s the ability to spend massive amounts of money in the pursuit of mediocre results. Looking at you, Galaxy Fold.
Facebook will pay $650 million to settle facial recognition privacy lawsuit
Folks you are not going to believe how sorry Facebook is for violating your privacy and using your information to illegally set up biometric databases back in 2015. The social media company is so ashamed of its actions so wants this lawsuit to go away that its tossing in an extra $100 million dollars on top of the $550 million settlement its already has to pay. Coincidentally, Mark Zuckerberg has personally made $30 billion since the start of the pandemic thanks to your data.
TikTok is starting a $200 million fund for its top creators
Social media content creators are often treated much like NCAA athletes, expected to produce entertainment, not for money (which is how the rest of the economy works) but simply for “the love of the game.” That’s unacceptable so it’s great to see Tik-Tok of all social media sites doing something to fix it. The company announced last week that its forming a $200 Creators Fund to compensate its top talents.
