Here are three things people are talking about this week.
Take a chill pill, investors
Amazon acquired PillPack (we see you, Nas) and the expected happened: People dumped the stock of its pharmacy competitors. Walgreens shares plunged nearly 10 percent Thursday after the Amazon news, despite bullish news that it topped quarterly profit estimates and said it was raising its dividend and buying back $10 billion of its own shares.
Read all about it here at the NYT.
What this means for you: If you held onto your pharma-stocks, good for you. We’ve seen this “Death by Amazon” phenomena before. Grocery stocks that got clocked after Amazon bought Whole Foods last June have bounced back. Despite falling 20 percent in all, Sprouts Farmers Market has rallied back to where it was before Amazon bought the competing organic grocery seller.
Robots are coming for you (and they have snacks)
It Kroger can pull off what they announced, it will make getting groceries feel like living in a science fiction movie (finally!). Kroger announced Thursday it's working with an electric car startup called Nuro in order "to redefine the grocery customer experience for Americans by piloting an on-road, fully autonomous delivery experience." They're coming. Driverless cars that will deliver your groceries to your door.
Read the full press release here.
What this means for you: The future is now! Imagine what a grocery store could look like in the next ten years – a fully digital, cash- and cashier-less experience in-store and a little bit like the Jetsons when you shop from home.
One reef saved!
One of the world’s remaining coral reef systems is no longer considered to be in danger thanks to active efforts to protect it. There’s been a lot of hand-wringing over the state of coral reefs around the globe, which are threatened due to warming ocean temperatures caused by climate change, ocean acidification, and damage from the fishing and extraction industries. According to Belize, effort equals results, which is very good news.
Read the whole story here.
What this means for you: Do something. The message has always been clear that conservation action and curbing greenhouse gas emissions can turn the tide. We have a very real opportunity to not only save, but even restore our coral reefs before it’s too late. The work done in Belize shows that it just takes a little effort and commitment to preserve some of the most straight-up stunning ecosystems on our planet. Seriously, let’s just try a little bit and see what happens.
