When countries around the world began imposing lockdowns in March, there were concerns that Netflix would strain under the pressure. And the company — along with other platforms — did reduce the quality of video streams in Europe and elsewhere to alleviate network congestion. But Netflix has said that the process has gone smoothly.
— Bloomberg News
LAWSUITS
Hedge fund faces sex discrimination case
New York hedge fund Advent Capital Management subjected a former junior investment associate to “relentless, egregious discrimination” and then fired her for complaining about it to the firm’s top executives, she alleged in a lawsuit.
Male traders and portfolio managers at the firm ranked women on a 1-10 scale, called them demeaning names and classified them according to whether men would marry, kill or have sex with them, Courtney Robb said in the complaint, filed Monday in federal court in Manhattan.
Robb said she complained to Advent’s former chief operating officer and was later fired after a closed-door meeting in which the firm’s president and chief investment officer, Tracy Maitland, excused the behavior as “locker room talk.”
“Just weeks after engaging in protected speech about discrimination to Maitland himself and the COO, Advent fired Ms. Robb without any explanation,” the complaint said.
A representative for Advent didn’t immediately have a comment on the suit.
— Bloomberg News
Also in Business
Target said it will extend its temporary $2-an-hour pay hike for workers through July 4 as the company deals with higher demand amid the covid-19 pandemic.
The company is also extending policies that give employees who are 65 or older, pregnant, or have medical conditions paid leave for up to 30 days. Workers will also get access to backup care for children or family members. This will be the second extension of higher pay for Target, which initially announced wage increases in March
American Express chief executive Steve Squeri said a majority of the company’s employees will work remotely through the end of this year as it seeks to slow the spread of the coronavirus. While the credit-card issuer wants to be prepared to have half of normal staffing at most locations by the end of the year, Squeri doesn’t expect it “to get anywhere near the 50 percent mark by the end of 2020,” he told employees in a video message Monday.
The European Union’s tech chief Thierry Breton said Facebook will face more regulation if Mark Zuckerberg fails to assuage concerns about market power, in a live-streamed debate with Zuckerberg on Monday. The men discussed Internet governance as well as the role of platforms in managing the coronavirus pandemic, in a debate hosted by the Center on Regulation in Europe. Facebook has been battling violent hate speech, disinformation and fraudulent posts related to the pandemic on its sites, while ad revenue softens as a result of the crisis.
— From news services
Coming today
8:30 a.m.: Commerce Department releases housing starts for April.
Earnings: Home Depot, Walmart.