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The Numbers for Tuesday, October 29: Keeping track of important things

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$886,000

The amount one Norwegian man discovered he had made on a forgotten $27 investment into bitcoins he made four years ago. The value of the digital currency has fluctuated wildly over the past few years since it was introduced, but reached a high of $197 per coin in October. The man said he has sold about a fifth of his 5,000-coin share to buy an apartment. (The Guardian)

20%

The portion of online consumer tracking data that advertising firms say is inaccurate. The culprit? Cookies, the files that websites install on computers to track consumers. The technology is becoming less and less useful as more people browse on mobile devices (on which cookies don’t work) and opt-out of cookies altogether. (The Wall Street Journal)

$8.8 billion

The money the National Retail Federation estimates that the retail industry lost last year to “wardrobing,” the practice of buying an expensive outfit, wearing it once to twice to a party or other engagement, and then returning it for a refund. To attempt to curb the practice — which is in fact illegal — Bloomingdale’s will start attaching large, 3-inch black plastic tags to dresses costing more than $150 and leaving them on after their sale. (CNBC)

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