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The numbers for September 17, 2014

Tony Wagner Sep 17, 2014

Thirty-two out of 60 economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict that the Federal Reserve will announce plans to keep interest rates near zero for a “considerable time” in a statement expected Wednesday afternoon. In general, Fed-speak-watchers are split on whether the bank will drop that language, which could rattle the markets.

While we wait for the Fed’s statement, here are the other numbers we’re keeping an eye on:

59 percent

Mobile ads are a moneymaker for Facebook, accounting for 59 percent of its ad revenue in the first quarter of 2014. The Wall Street Journal reported that most of that money isn’t coming from big consumer brands, but from mobile gaming companies who will pay out the nose for targeted ads and users who hit the “install” button without leaving Facebook sometimes up to $20 per ad and another $10 per install. That investment becomes worth it once users shell out money for in-game add-ons, but many are concerned the market for “free-to-play” games will bust soon.

$500 million

That’s how much the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is seeking in a suit against the troubled for-profit Corinthian Colleges. The suit alleges that Corinthian used predatory lending tactics and harassed students to claim payments, all the while messing with its own job placement numbers by paying employers to temporarily hire its graduates. Corinthian disputes the allegations.

53 percent

The parents of over half the students at the Children’s Creative Workshop in Malibu have filed “Personal Belief Exceptions,” allowing their children to attend school without certain vaccines. Many of the wealthiest schools across California are seeing a huge drop in vaccination rates, according to an investigation by the Hollywood Reporter, and cases of whooping cough are skyrocketing.

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