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By The Numbers

Organic farming meets big business

Beidi Zhang and Tony Wagner May 7, 2015
$32 billion

 That’s the size of the U.S. organic food market. The Washington Post reported an increasing number of major food conglomerates are investing in organic brands, sometimes quietly to avoid alienating consumers. Some argue that the investment benefits the still-small business of organic farming, while others say large companies could use their influence to lower  the threshold of what’s considered “organic.”

$210 million

This is how much the Japanese video game maker Nintendo posted in their earnings report for the year. The gain is a first in almost half a decade, from a reported loss of more than $400 million the year before. A weaker yen and, in turn, stronger export numbers boosted the company profit. With its video games launching on mobile platforms, the company forecast its profits doubling in the year ahead. 

4,700,000

That’s how many mentions Hillary Clinton has gotten on Facebook since entering the presidential race last month, according to data from the company reported by the Wall Street Journal. That’s more than double Ted Cruz, who has been in the race longer and far outstrips his fellow Republican hopefuls in Facebook attention.

$6,761

That’s how much more nursing home residents paid for care between 2004 and 2009, due to increased use of hospice care. New research has shown that our conventional wisdom surrounding hospice — that it reduces the cost of hospital stays and other care — doesn’t apply when more patients stay there for longer, sometimes years.

$500 billion

This is how big the global remittance industry is. Bloomberg reported earlier this week that Western Union was planning to acquire MoneyGram, and share prices spiked after news of the potential merger broke. Western Union later denied the move. Though there are many online services for remitting money around the world, Western Union and MoneyGram dominant positions have raised anti-trust concerns. 

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