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The numbers for September 10, 2014

Tony Wagner Sep 10, 2014

380 days. That’s how long ago President Barack Obama first weighed airstrikes to “deter and degrade” Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile. Wednesday night, hours before the 13th anniversary of 9/11, Obama will outline plans for “degrading and ultimately destroying” extremist group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria through airstrikes in the region.

As we wait for Obama’s address, here’s what we’re reading — and the numbers we’re keeping an eye on — Wednesday morning.

$2 billion

The initial valuation of Mojang — the company behind the cult megahit Minecraft — as Microsoft nears an acquisition deal, according to The Wall Street Journal. The game’s fan base is reportedly flabbergastedThe game has sold over 50 million copies, spawned a toy line and even worked its way into the classroom

5 percent

The portion of college and university assets that are invested in energy and natural resources — or, about $22 billion. Schools across the country are facing mounting pressure to divest from fossil fuels, and the University of California system is the latest institution mulling it over. The Wall Street Journal has a breakdown of several schools’ endowments and their decisions on divestment.

$90 billion

The mobile payment market is expected to quadruple by 2017. With the announcement of its own mobile payment system yesterday, Apple is angling to get in on that action. The tech giant has secured deals with partner banks, Bloomberg reported, giving Apple a cut of the so-called “swipe fees” from each Apple Pay transaction.

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