Significant Digits For Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015

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3.6 percent drop

It’s not often that a 3.6 percent drop in the value of a small hedge fund’s main fund gets the general public’s attention. But Eaglevale Partners LP was co-founded by the son-in-law of Bill and Hillary Clinton, two people who make the papers every now and then. The loss was blamed on the fund’s investments in Greece, which did not rebound as quickly as fund managers expected. [The Wall Street Journal]

22 percent cut

Californians cut water use by 22 percent last December from a year earlier. Their state’s drought is now in its fourth year. [The Associated Press]

25 percent

What happens if you don’t bother filing your taxes? I expected it would involve the fiery steel hammer of the U.S. government coming down from the heavens to annihilate all who dare taunt it, but it’s actually a penalty of up to 25 percent of what’s owed, along with the possibility of another penalty of 25 percent for being late, plus interest. That still sounds terrible. [Bloomberg Business]

55 years

Harper Lee, who 55 years ago published the iconic “To Kill A Mockingbird,” is planning to release a new novel, “Go Set A Watchman,” this July. The book was written in the 1950s, before “Mockingbird,” but is set 20 years later and features Scout’s adult life. [The Guardian]

56 repeal attempts

Yesterday marked the 56th House of Representatives vote to repeal or weaken some or all of the Affordable Care Act. If the previous 55 votes to repeal have set any any precedent, it’s that President Obama won’t consider signing the bill. But hey, who knows, maybe this vote will finally be the one to change his mind. [The New York Times]

61 percent

The median income for men with college degrees in Silicon Valley is 61 percent higher than the median income for college-educated women, a gap of $34,233. The comparable gender wage gap for the country as a whole is 48 percent. [The Wall Street Journal]

77 percent

A poll conducted by the Benenson Strategy Group on behalf of Fusion found that 77 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds couldn’t name either of their two U.S. Senators. In fairness, most Americans don’t know jack about civics, so there’s no reason to pick on the young folks. Moreover, the poll was conducted by telephone, which I’m told is an archaic form of communication that predates the internet. [Fusion]

20,580 euros

French Monopolists, rejoice: To commemorate the 80th anniversary of Monopoly in France, 80 buyers of the board game there will find actual cash in the till. One lucky buyer will get a set in which the 20,580 units of Monopoly money have been replaced with 20,580 euros, worth about $23,600. I assume the French version of the game involves substantially more striking. [Agence France-Presse]

$107,000

That was the maximum salary in the WNBA last season. Diana Taurasi made just under that sum to play for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury last summer. She’ll make more this summer by sitting out the WNBA season than she would have by playing it. Her Russian club team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, is paying her more than her Mercury salary just to rest and stay healthy for the Russian pro league, where she is earning nearly $1.5 million this winter. [espnW]

$1.5 billion

Standard & Poor’s will pay $687.5 million to the Justice Department, $687.5 million to a consortium of 19 states and Washington, D.C., and $125 million to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System to settle lawsuits regarding the credit rating company’s overly positive ratings of mortgage-backed securities ahead of the 2008 financial crisis. [Reuters]

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