NETFLIX SHARES ERODING DAILY

Unlike last week when shares of Netflix plunged 25 percent in one day, there has been no similar dive this week, merely a steady erosion of the company’s shares by 1 or 2 percent daily, pushing them closer and closer to the $50 level. At midmorning today (Thursday), they were down 1.82 percent to $53.51 as signs appeared that Netflix chief Reed Hastings was spot on when he predicted that fewer subscribers would be renting movies during the Olympics and that some of them might suspend their subscriptions until the Games are over. In an article on the Forbes magazine website, contributor Christopher Versace argued that Netflix faces even more difficulties in the long term. He pointed to Amazon’s recent announcement that its Prime Instant Video will now be available on the iPad and that the Hulu and Hulu Plus streaming services will now be available on TV sets via the Apple TV settop box. Each service, he noted, offers more recent content than Netflix and competes favorably with it on price. Versace reiterated that he remains bearish on Netflix.