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THE WEEK IN FIGURES
We’re rounding up the numbers you need to know from the week’s biggest business and business stories so you can impress yourself and your friends.
US President Donald Trump made history this week when he became the only president to be impeached twice. But that’s not the only large number making headlines.
Here’s the big economic and business news you may have missed when glued to the drama unfolding on Capitol Hill.
A lot
Wait, aren’t you business journalists? Okay, okay, we know we should be more specific, but the list of companies, universities and cities in cut ties with Trump – and the Republican lawmakers who voted against certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory – continues to grow.
The Trump brand has become increasingly toxic as consumers demand that companies, politicians and other powerful figures take a stand against the incumbent US president and the attack on democracy launched on his behalf.
Among the highlights: social media giants have banned Trump from their platforms, some banks have reportedly decided to stop doing business with him and the organization that bears his name, universities have canceled honorary degrees they had awarded to Trump, New York City canceled commercial contracts with the Trump organization, and the PGA withdrew its championship from Trump’s Golf Course in Bedminster, New Jersey.
It’s a big blow to the reality TV star-turned-president, who has long bragged about her business acumen and poses as a master negotiator. We update the listing in real time, so check it out for the latest.
$ 1.9 trillion
the Recovery plan proposed by President-elect Joe Biden to help the US economy ravaged by COVID. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are scheduled to be sworn in on Jan.20, and they inherit a deeply hurt – and deeply uneven – economy.
Biden’s stimulus proposal includes $ 1,400 stimulus checks (in addition to the $ 600 checks approved in late December) and an increase in the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour.
965,000
That help can’t come soon enough, as nearly a million Americans registered for state unemployment benefits last week.
Some 965,000 people filed their first unemployment claims with states in the week ending Jan. 9, the US Department of Labor said Thursday. This is the highest reading in five months and an increase of 181,000 from the previous week.
An increase in COVID infections has resulted in further restrictions on businesses, sparking more layoffs.
1.02
The Earth’s average temperature was 1.02 degrees Celsius (1.84 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the baseline average from 1951 to 1980, meaning that 2020 came hot – to match 2016 as the hottest year on record, according to a climate analysis released Thursday by NASA and the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
More significant than a record year, however, is the fact that the global temperature spike in 2020 is consistent with an upward trend seen for decades.
“The past seven years have been the hottest seven years on record since 1880,” Lesley Ott, NASA research meteorologist, told Al Jazeera. “So not only do we see 2020 as a very hot year, but it’s something that we have seen continue and continue. We have seen this steady rise in temperatures over the past decades.
Nearly 2000
The number of exhibitors at the first edition of this year Fully Virtual Consumer Electronics Show. Usually held in Las Vegas, Nevada, this year’s CES has entrepreneurs vying for public and investor attention with virtual booths and breakout sessions.
Among the innovations? Smart temperature-controlled (yum) food lockers, sanitizing robots, personalized scent dispensers that change scents to suit your mood, and an N95 Bluetooth mask that lets you make calls, play music and use a virtual assistant while staying safe during the pandemic. Alexa, give me the vaccine.
$ 1.44
The value of a new Swedish postage stamp featuring 18-year-old climate justice activist Greta Thunberg. The stamp, which features Thunberg in his signature yellow raincoat, was unveiled this week as part of a series of postage celebrating the environment and costs 12 crowns.
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