Roku CFO Louden to step down, plans to return to Seattle area

Roku Inc. ROKU, +4.42% said late Monday its Chief Executive Steve Louden plans to step down at an unspecified date. Louden will help the streaming-device maker to hire his successor, Roku said. He joined Roku as CFO in 2015. He plans to relocate to the Seattle area with his family "after assisting with a smooth transition," Roku said. Shares of Roku fell 3.8% in the extended session after ending the regular trading day up 4.4%.

Cars.com CFO Sheehan to step down in January

Cars.com Inc. CARS, +0.48% shares declined in the extended session Monday after the online auto dealer said its chief financial officer was leaving the company. Cars.com shares declined 3.1% after hours, following a 0.5% rise to close the regular session at $12.47. The company said Becky Sheehan will step down as CFO Jan. 10 to go work for an unnamed private-equity portfolio company. Jandy Tomy, vice president of treasury and investor relations, will serve as interim CFO while the company conducts an executive search. Cars.com said it reaffirmed its outlook for the year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect a loss of $6.54 a share on revenue of $607.5 million.

Disney heiress slams ‘Silicon Valley’ star for his ‘thirsty’ Instagram photo — then she reads his caption

Dinesh, is that really you underneath all that muscle?

Kumail Nanjiani may play a nerdy coder on the popular sitcom “Silicon Valley,” but by the looks of his latest Instagram FB, +1.96% post, he’s clearly moved on to his next big project — a role in Marvel’s upcoming superhero flick.

While thousands of fans cheered his sculpted look, Abigail Disney, the wealthy granddaughter of Walt Disney Co. DIS, +1.42% co-founder Roy Disney, took to Twitter TWTR, +1.91% to air her feelings:

She wasn’t finished. Not by a long shot. To look like that, she wrote, takes an “obsessive, controlling and all-around obnoxious person.” Disney said it’s that kind of post that puts pressure on kids who look to celebrities as role models.

“Conflating what Hollywood presents as ideal with health is a grave mistake,” she wrote during her tweetstorm. “Mentally at least, I know I would be far better off if I’d never seen a picture of Audrey Hepburn.”

Then this tweet got in the way:

Marvel, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walt Disney, set a November 2020 release date for “Eternals,” which stars Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, and Salma Hayek alongside Nanjiani.

Also check out: Abigail Disney says that Jesus Christ himself doesn’t deserve this much money

Disabled Flyers May Get More Bathroom Access on Many U.S. Jets

Airlines would be required to offer lavatories accessible to disabled passengers on more aircraft under a proposal released Monday by the U.S. Transportation Department.

The plan would require airlines to ensure that new, single-aisle jets with at least 125 seats have accessible toilet seats, assist handles, faucets, door locks and other features of aircraft lavatories, the department said in a press release. In addition, airlines would be required to train flight attendants on how to assist disabled passengers going between lavatories and their seats.

U.S. rules currently don’t require single-aisle aircraft to have accessible lavatories, even as those aircraft are increasingly used for long-haul flights, according to the department.

“The inability to use the lavatory on long flights can present significant challenges to passengers with disabilities, and poses a deterrent for some passengers with disabilities to travel by air,” the department said in its statement announcing the proposal.

The plan does not propose making lavatories larger, said the department, which will soon begin a 60-day period for public comment.

Lilly board hikes dividend by 15%

Eli Lilly & Co. LLY, +1.09% said late Monday that its board approved a 15% hike to the company’s quarterly dividend. Lilly said it will pay a dividend of 74 cents a share, up from 64.5 cents a share, on March 10, 2020 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 14. Lilly shares were flat after hours, following a 1.1% increase to close the regular session at $122.85.

Mexico agrees 20% hike in daily minimum wage for 2020-minister

MEXICO CITY, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Mexico has agreed to increase the daily minimum wage by 20% to 123.22 pesos ($6.36) for 2020, Labor Minister Luisa Maria Alcalde said on Monday. ($1 = 19.3710 Mexican pesos) (Reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher)

US and China have kind of reached a tentative trade deal

China and the US have some sort of tentative deal on trade.

It happened last Friday, but was rumored earlier in the week. Wall Street was happy, so President Trump must also be happy.

Most Americans don’t know dim sum about China. So I’ve been talking to people who do, or who know people who know. And the consensus is that this was the easy part.

In the first place, the two countries only settled on a preliminary agreement on the first phase of a deal. They basically agreed to continue to find an agreement.

Some tariffs were cut by the US, and others weren’t implemented. So trade tensions de-escalated.

The hard part, according to people who know China, is getting that country to abide by whatever rules it agrees to. Put another way, how is the US going to keep China from cheating?

And the most cheating will likely be in the technology area, especially in semiconductors. The Chinese love semiconductors. And once they get their hands on those little devils, the experts are worried they will copy them and manufacturer the computer components in Chinese factories.

But isn’t there a saying that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?” So we should be flattered if the Chinese steal our ideas, I guess.