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By The Numbers

All the news that’s fit to Facebook

Tony Wagner May 13, 2015
5

That’s how many publishers (the New York Times, National Geographic, BuzzFeed, NBC News and The Atlantic) are involved in Wednesday’s roll-out of content published directly to Facebook. Called Instant Articles, the partnership allows publications to put content directly onto the social media site’s mobile app. Facebook has lured companies in by promising 100 percent of creative control and ad revenue. But as Re/code points out, that doesn’t mean that Facebook can’t change its mind down the road.

3.9 million

That’s how many viewers watched “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on average each night last quarter. Viewership is only a little lower for “The Late Show With David Letterman,” a two-decade institution that airs at the same time on CBS. But online, it’s no contest. Fallon’s show churns out one viral video after another, and at a time when “late-night TV” is on TV and on late at night less and less, online success is crucial.

$179.4 million

That’s how much Pablo Picasso’s “Les Femmes d’Alger (Version ‘O’)” fetched in a Christie’s art sale this week. That number shattered the previous record for the most paid for a painting at auction. But art critic Blake Gopnik isn’t so sure that the quality of the painting merits the hefty price tag.

2 million

That’s about how many dial-up customers Verizon will inherit as part of its deal to buy AOL. Which, of course, begs the question: Who still uses dial-up?

$4.5 trillion

That’s the size of the global “vanity capital” market, according to a new report from Bank of America Merril Lynch. Quartz points out that measuring the market on vanity is difficult and subjective — the report includes luxury goods and art as well as makeup and supplements — but its an interesting figure to pick apart, even if it’s a rough estimate.

$1,000

That’s how much 58-year-old Uber driver Richard Brunelle pays each month towards a loan he took out to purchase his car. With a roughly 22.75 percent interest rate, loans like these can be incredibly difficult to pay off. Even more surprising? They’re organized by Uber itself. As part of a program to help potential drivers with bad credit get into the company, Uber connects drivers with lenders. After the deal is negotiated between the lender and the driver, Uber deducts payments out of the driver’s earnings. But economist William Black points out that Uber is using notorious subprime lenders like Santander Consumer USA to loan money to drivers.

4

That’s how many discount stores Macy’s will open in New York City in an attempt to improve sales. Called Macy’s Offstage, the venture puts the retailer in the company of other stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus that are already in the discount market. Also worth noting: Macy’s reported disappointing earnings Wednesday morning, with sales down 0.7 percent from last year to $6.2 billion.

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