Netflix added more than 5 million customers in the third quarter, blowing away Wall Street’s expectations on every major financial metric. And this despite a new programming slate that was behind the eight-ball from the start thanks to last year’s Hollywood strikes. Sales for the period grew 15%, approaching the startling $10 billion mark. So how did the streaming colossus pull it off? Passwords. Netflix has added more than 60 million customers thanks to its infamous crackdown on password sharing. The introduction of a lower-priced subscription with advertising didn’t hurt, either. But all that winning may be short-lived. Most analysts warn the boost from the password strategy is temporary and that the company will soon need another way to grow. Two regions—Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia-Pacific—accounted for almost all of the company’s new customers. And in Latin America, Netflix lost customers for the first time since early 2023. —David E. Rovella

Israel said it has killed the Hamas leader who orchestrated the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in which militants killed 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped hundreds more, triggering what’s become a regional war that’s claimed at least 44,000 more lives in Gaza and now Lebanon. Yahya Sinwar was one of three people killed on Wednesday in a strike in southern Gaza, the Israeli military said. US Vice President Kamala Harris said his death offered “an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza” and make Israel more secure. “It is time for the day after to begin without Hamas in power,” Harris said Thursday after a campaign event with college students in Milwaukee. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised the war will go on. President Joe Biden and other Democrats have wondered aloud in recent weeks whether the Israeli leader has rejected multiple ceasefire proposals in part to affect the coming US election. Israel has denied the allegation. Overnight, the US said it sent B-2 stealth bombers to strike weapons-storage sites linked to Houthi rebels in Yemen, the latest effort to blunt attacks by the Iran-backed group that have disrupted commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The strikes, according to the Pentagon, hit bunkers containing missiles and other munitions “used to target military and civilian vessels throughout the region.”

A B-2 bomber approaches a refueling plane over the North Atlantic Ocean.  Photographer: Paul Villanueva II/Digital

US retail sales strengthened in September by more than forecast in a broad advance, illustrating the resilient consumer spending powering the economy. The value of retail purchases (unadjusted for inflation) increased 0.4% after a 0.1% gain in August. Excluding autos and gasoline stations, sales climbed 0.7%. The sales figures cap another likely quarter of economic growth fueled by a labor market at or near a 50-year record for employment. While the retail report does little to reverse expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25 basis points next month, it does mean the central bank is likely to remain circumspect about more and bigger rate cuts.

Current private debt returns fail to justify the growing risk, according to Pacific Investment Management Co. “Fundamentals are deteriorating in more levered portions of the credit markets,” said Mohit Mittal, chief investment officer for core strategies at Pimco. “You’re seeing more complacency, so you have to be very thoughtful—you have to be very careful.” Private credit has more than doubled in size since 2019, ballooning into a $1.7 trillion industry. At the same time, returns in publicly-syndicated corporate debt markets have become significantly compressed compared to those available from direct lending, Pimco said.

Harvard University’s donations tumbled the most in nine years amid a surge in alumni anger over the school’s handling of allegations of antisemitism on campus, and its top financial official sounded a warning on rising costs. Cash gifts fell 15% to less than $1.2 billion during the fiscal year ended June 30, Harvard said in a financial report Thursday. Some of the largest donors,including billionaires Len Blavatnik and Ken Griffin, have paused donations to their alma mater over the past year, as did other less-wealthy graduates.

If you enjoy having migraines, you might want to spend some time thinking about the future of Florida’s housing market in an era of destructive climate disasters, Mark Gongloff writes in Bloomberg Opinion. Are home prices in some areas being driven down by people fleeing the parts of the Sunshine State most prone to flooding and high insurance costs? Or are developers snatching up storm-ravaged land to build new—and more expensive—homes in those same places? Or are people moving just in from the shore, displacing those on higher ground and making housing there less affordable? The answer to all these questions, Gongloff writes, is yes. 

Saurabh Gadgil touts himself “a man of premeditated action” on social media, saying that whatever happens next is just a reaction. Truly, the reaction has been swift to his decision to take his family’s 192-year-old Indian jewelry business public last month. Shares in PN Gadgil Jewellers Ltd. have surged 61% since the initial public offering in Mumbai in September, which hit the market just ahead of the nation’s lucrative wedding and festival season. The 47-year-old, who is PNG’s chairman and managing director, has sought to transform the Pune-based company into a national brand since he inherited it more than a decade ago. By the looks of things, he’s succeeding. And that IPO managed to push his net worth to almost $1.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Saurabh Gadgil Source: Source: PN Gadgil Jewellers Ltd

A Vietnamese real estate tycoon already facing the death penalty for fraud was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty on additional charges. Truong My Lan (below) was convicted of fraudulent appropriation of property, money laundering and illegally transporting currency across international borders. While Vietnam has embarked on a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown that has forced top government officials to step down and sent some senior executives to jail, Lan’s case has grabbed global attention due to the severity of the sentences. A well-known property mogul, she also happened to be the mastermind behind one of the biggest frauds the world has ever seen. Bloomberg Originals explores what her story may mean for Vietnam’s economic growth story and future foreign investment.