The numbers for October 24, 2014
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The numbers for October 24, 2014
Amazon shares dropped 95 cents at close Thursday and the company posted disappointing earnings with operating losses at $544 million. It has been a big quarter for Amazon, with new acquisitions, well-received original series, ugly publisher fights and a disastrous smartphone launch.
The Fire Phone loomed large over the earnings call, which by itself has cost Amazon $170 million. With that new perspective, Forbes just published a review of the cash-hemorrhaging, actually-not-bad device.
Here are some other numbers we’re watching and other stories we’re reading Friday:
Ello is jumping off of that new venture capital infusion and becoming a public benefit corporation, Wired reported. Critics have noted the social network’s ad-free, data-benevolent ethos might not stand up to investor pressure or future revenue opportunities. But its new PBC status — a relatively new designation — and charter prohibits Ello or any future buyer from selling advertising or user data.
The portion of American adults who don’t know that online price discrimination — steering different users toward different price points based on cookies and other data — is legal. A new study from Northwestern University shows this practice is widespread, used by major retailers and travel sites. Time has a guide for users trying to get the best price.
That’s how many temporary employees UPS will bring on this holiday season, up 10,000 from last year. Overall, holiday retail hiring is expected to surpass 800,000 employees this year, the highest it has been since 1999. Though those temp positions only turn into permanent jobs for a few.
The man who bought Ebola.com for $13,500 just sold the domain name to a Russian cannabis company for $200,000 in cash and stock, the Verge reported. That’s $50,000 more than his asking price.
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