Marketplace®
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Oct 1, 2014

Marketplace for Wednesday, October 1, 2014

The first case of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S. raises the question of whether there will be a more concerted effort to create a vaccine or drug treatment for the disease. We explain the incentives at play when companies and governments pursue drugs, how the industry/marketplace respond to outbreaks, and how drug resources get mobilized. Next, small cable companies are getting out of the TV side of the business or reducing their offerings. We look at what this means for shows. Finally: Reddit has just raised $50 million in funding from investors and is preparing to give 10 percent of these shares back to its community of users as equity. This is a “long-held dream” says CEO Yishan Wong, and now it’s time to figure out how that model could actually work.

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The first case of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S. raises the question of whether there will be a more concerted effort to create a vaccine or drug treatment for the disease. We explain the incentives at play when companies and governments pursue drugs, how the industry/marketplace respond to outbreaks, and how drug resources get mobilized. Next, small cable companies are getting out of the TV side of the business or reducing their offerings. We look at what this means for shows. Finally: Reddit has just raised $50 million in funding from investors and is preparing to give 10 percent of these shares back to its community of users as equity. This is a “long-held dream” says CEO Yishan Wong, and now it’s time to figure out how that model could actually work.