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By The Numbers

Spoof, there it is

Tony Wagner Apr 22, 2015
600 points

That’s how many points the Dow rapidly dropped in 2010 in what became known as the “Flash Crash.” Regulators have continually struggled to pinpoint what happened, but now there may be some answers. Navinder Singh Sarao, a British futures trader, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with manipulating the market via spoofing, in which large orders are placed and then almost immediately cancelled. The practice forces other investors to move on false figures. As the NY Times reports, Sarao is alleged to have made $40 million in profits.

Prop 218

That’s an amendment to the California State Constitution. Passed about two decades ago, Prop 218 protects against price hikes in utility fees — but it’s had unintended consequences, curbing attempts at tiered pricing, a new water-saving measure in a state ravaged by drought. 

$5.5 million to $7.9 million

That’s the potential cost to the city of Baltimore, Maryland to outfit all of its police officers with body cameras. The mayor vetoed the plan initially, but now the city is considering a trial run. With President Barack Obama’s (now on hold) proposal to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to equip police departments, we take a look at the pros and cons of using body cameras, and the costs after the cameras start rolling.

44.8 percent

The portion of emoji typed by SwiftKey users showing a happy face, according to new data released by the company this week. That may seem mundane, but it’s actually widest-reaching data we have about emoji use, and it has some surprises. Fusion notes the U.S. leads all countries in use of the eggplant emoji, for example, while Canadians prefer the poop emoji.

$900 million

That’s what start-up Fab was once valued at, though it went onto be acquired for about $30 million. The problem? Overspending. Sam Altman, head of tech incubator Y Combinator, says too many start-ups are aggressively burning through money so they can grow. He’s reaching out to YC alumni, Business Insider reported, warning that burning cash are threatening the industry more than ballooning valuations.

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