Wednesday’s business headlines

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Here’s a look at Wednesday’s business headlines.

Small business

WalletHub ranks Indiana 21st when it comes to the ease of starting a business.

Indiana was high for business costs for things like real estate, rent and taxes.

But lost some ground on access to resources, like capital.

Texas ranked the easiest state to start a business, New Jersey was last.

Back to school

The National Retail Federation expects record back-to-school spending this year.

The total is expected to be $37 billion.

Meanwhile, a new study from Mulberry found that 35% of parents dread back-to-school shopping and 57% of these parents point to budget as the main reason.

Despite budget concerns, 88% of parents confirmed they will be participating in back-to-school sales this year with 47% estimating they will spend between $100-$500.

Netflix

Netflix remains the dominant force in streaming but is losing ground to rivals.

That’s the takeaway of a new report examining the company’s share of the streaming business.

Netflix’s share of global audience demand of digital original series dropped to below 50% for the first time ever.

Netflix execs did confirm it is getting into gaming and will start with mobile first.

Blue Origin

Jeff Bezos says sales of Blue Origin space tourist flights are “approaching $100 million” already.

He didn’t say how many tickets have been sold or how much they cost.

Bezos said Blue Origin is “going to fly human missions twice more this year” but said he’s “not sure yet” how many crewed new launches the company will attempt in 2022.