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By The Numbers

The Numbers for October 15: Money in unusual places

Shea Huffman Oct 15, 2013
$1,000

The amount one woman from Atlanta was asking for when selling her hair online. Her posting on buyandsellhair.com had responses within minutes. More Americans are turning to selling parts of their bodies, like hair, eggs, and breast milk, in order to make ends meet as the economic recovery continues to lag. (Bloomberg)

20%

The unemployment rate in Iran after years of harsh economic sanctions from an international community that wants the country to negotiate on its nuclear program. Representatives from the U.S. and Iran, along with officials from the U.K., France, Germany, Russia, and China, will meet today in Geneva to do just that. Meanwhile, the average Iranian is feeling the impact, as inflation is rising. Food prices in some cases have quadrupled over the past five years. (Marketplace)

$16 billion

The revenue that online retailers like Amazon currently bring in from just the two percent of American households who buy goods like paper towels over the web. Amazon hopes to increase both those numbers by partnering with household products giant Procter & Gamble to ramp up efficiency in shipping the staple goods to consumers. If successful, the move could disrupt traditional companies like Walmart with lower prices. (Yahoo Finance)

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