Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now

The numbers for September 9, 2014

Tony Wagner Sep 9, 2014

Regardless of whether you want an iPhone 6, it’s worth looking back at Steve Jobs’ original iPhone announcement from 2007. Seven years isn’t that long, but Jobs’ presentation touting the iPhone’s 3.5-inch screen and two-megapixel camera still feels bizarrely dated. How did we charge those cinderblocks again? Hand crank?

 

Here’s a look at what we’re reading  and five other numbers we’re keeping an eye on — Tuesday morning:

 

60,000

 

That’s the number of people Koch Industries employs in the U.S. and a key part of the company’s new public image effort. The multinational corporation — which has a hand in everything from ranching to paper to asphalt to electronics  is trying to deflect attacks on its owners, Charles and David Koch, the Washington Post reported. The nationwide marketing effort, the company’s first, is an attempt to keep criticism of their politics from tarnishing Koch Industries.

 

142 percent

 

How much more carbon dioxide there is in the atmosphere compared to the start of the industrial revolution, according to new data from the World Meteorological Organization. CO2 levels rose faster from 2012 to 2013 than they have since 1984. The U.N. will convene in New York later this month for a special summit on climate change, the BBC reported.

 

15

 

At least this many major websites are taking part in “Internet Slowdown Day,” a protest for net neutrality Wednesday. Netflix, Reddit, Etsy, Kickstarter and many more will feature loading screens on their sites to simulate what the web might look like if companies were forced to pay broadband carriers for faster service. The  protest comes as the second round for public comment to the FCC ends next week, TechHive reported. (Disclosure: Marketplace’s distributer, American Public Media, has filed a comment in favor of net neutrality.)

 

60 million

 

The number of customers whose credit card information may have been stolen during a data breach at Home Depot, reports the New York Times. The retailer confirmed the hack Monday and said in-store shoppers from April up to last week could be affected. The theft could dwarf Target’s breach from last year, in which hackers got information for an estimated 40 million customers. 

 

99 cents

 

The new price of Amazon’s Fire smartphone, slashed from $199 in a temporary promotion this week, The Wall Street Journal reports. Amazon hasn’t released sales numbers for the phone, but it seems safe to say they’re below expectations ahead of Apple’s new iPhone launch.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.