The total economic stimulus passed by the U.S. government over the past year is $5.3 trillion. That’s a number so mind-bogglingly enormous that it becomes almost impossible to comprehend, so here’s another way to put it: More than $43,000 per U.S. household. Axios, March 11, 2021
Forty percent of younger respondents, aged 18-24, said they will buy stocks with their next round of stimulus checks, while 37% of 35-54-year-olds said they will be doing the same. If the survey is correct, new inflows into the stock market could total around $170 billion. CNBC, March 8, 2021
A new analysis looking into the year-over-year trends of the pandemic era found that Americans turned to some unconventional aids in their attempt to discern the unclear future, with consumer interest in psychics rising 74%, mystics rising 71%, and astrologers up 63%. Yelp Economic Advantage, March 10, 2021
Today it costs $10,950 to purchase 1,000 fake Amazon reviews from AMZTigers, one of a number of “review manipulation services” that boost the ratings and sales of third-party merchants on Amazon. A single fake review will run you about $18. Insider, February 16, 2021
In a recent survey, 38% of Americans would be willing to give up sex for a year in order to travel again immediately. Besides giving up sex, 25% of Americans said they would give up all their savings, 20% said they would leave their partner, and nearly 50% said they would quit their jobs- all in the name of travel. Marker, March 3, 2021
Even though the rides are still closed because of the pandemic, Disney is charging $75 for visitors to wander around its California theme park. On a recent Wednesday afternoon, it was a 45-minute wait to simply enter the Downtown Disney area, 50 if you count the five-minute walk from the car, which cost $10 to park. L.A. Times, February 24, 2021
The shoe store chain Shoe Zone has announced that Terry Boot is taking over as its finance director. He is replacing (you can’t make this stuff up) Peter Foot. Sky News, March 8, 2021