The internet has been around for a while now…yet it hasn’t really transformed the real estate business the way it should have writes Brad Stone:

• Sites such as Zillow have made it easier for buyers and sellers to trade properties – yet agents remain a part of the process and their fees have stayed the same.
• This is despite the studies that indicate that going through an agent, rather than selling the home directly, decreases the price of the home by up to 7.7%.
• This might be due to collusion –there are agents involved on both the buy and sell sides; one agent might navigate their client away from another agent that offers a discount low-cost model.
• Things aren’t likely to change in the future. It’s not as if buyers and sellers haven’t used the internet – in fact 90% of real estate transactions begin on the web – they just feel the need to work with an agent who overcharges them.

Read more about the company that is (unsuccessfully) trying to challenge the standard model, a couple companies that have given up on challenging it, and how agents do in other countries over here.

Source: Businessweek

Via: Marginal Revolution

Clothing retailers appear to have perpetual sales that do nothing but mislead customers about the value of the deals they’re getting. As we’ve previously covered Ron Johnson wanted to try to change that and implement a system of fair pricing. The initiative has been an abject failure and has seriously damaged J.C. Penney’s sales. What happened?

• Coupons and false ‘sales’ are a drain on retailers. It makes supply difficult to project, and leads to uncertain profit margins.
• It’s not that great for customers either. They don’t really get a discount when they go to stores – instead the retailers inflate the original price and then pretend to mark it down to make it seem like a good deal.
• In theory then getting rid of coupons and facetious sales is a good deal for both parties.
• Yet human beings seem hardwired to look out for deals – even if they’re fake. The thrill of the hunt is half the fun of shopping.
• Part of the problem is that J.C. Penney couldn’t promise the lowest prices the way that chains like Walmart do. All it was claiming was ‘low’ prices but what was ‘low’ was being defined by J.C. Penney and consumers had no reason to trust it.
• Thus J.C. Penney’s initiative failed and its CEO Ron Johnson was replaced.

Read more about the struggles that other companies have had with honest pricing, the merits and drawbacks of honest pricing, areas where it may work, and more over here.

Source: The New York Times

North Korea has recently increased the intensity of its rhetoric. John Hudson looked at the companies who may well be thankful for this:

• Lockheed Martin, Boeing, EADS, and BAE Systems are all trying to sell fighter jets to South Korea. Recent events only make their business case more attractive.
• The rise of drone aircraft has led to a “robotic alliance” between the US, Australia, Japan, and South Korea. Seoul sees them as valuable tools to ward off the threat from North Korea.
• Missiles can cost up to $80,000 a piece, and since South Korea may soon have to replenish its stocks, the share price of firms that produce them have rocketed up.

Read more over here.

Source: Foreign Policy

Andrew Bomford writes that in general electric cars actually end up being worse for the environment than conventional ones. Here’s why:

• Electric cars require twice as much energy as conventional cars to manufacture.
• The source of energy that electric cars use to recharge their batteries can also be just as polluting as those of regular cars.
• When these two factors are taken together, it is likely that an electric car bought today will be worse for the environment than a conventional one.
• However this is changing. As demand for electric cars expands, the process of building them will become more efficient and less energy intensive.
• Countries are also increasingly using renewables to supply their electricity needs, and this too will lessen the impact that electric cars have on the environment.

Read more about the methodology of the study that outlined the pollution impact of electric cars, as well as the countries where electric cars are best for the environment over here.

Source: BBC

In the United States it is commonly believed that southern States are the most obese. It turns out that’s a myth:

• The data that indicates that southerners are the fattest comes from a periodic nationwide survey done by the CDC asking respondents about their height and weight.
• However this relies on self-reported data. When southerners are actually weighed then they no longer top the charts.
• The reason why the CDC survey shows them to be the fattest then may simply be because southerners are the most willing to be honest about their weight.

Read more about the study, its findings, and its methodology over here.

Source: All Alabama

Via: Marginal Revolution

The fight against AIDS was led by many groups – from activists to governments – writes The Economist. One of these groups is corporations:

• Businesses in South Africa became increasingly concerned about the spread of AIDS. Certain groups of workers such as miners who lived in areas rife with prostitution were particularly at risk for the disease.
• At one point AIDS had spread so widely that companies were training two employees for every job, just in case one fell sick.
• To deal with this companies launched programs such as free AIDS testing, and free drug treatments for those who were diagnosed with AIDS.
• Mining offices began to receive weekly emails outlining which offices had the lowest rates of AIDS – or, as one commentator put it, which mine was the safest to have sex in.
• The initiatives worked, and AIDS has become a much more manageable disease.
• Companies that launched the programs have realized other benefits from instituting the controls. From improved employee morale to lower staff turnover. In fact the AIDS programs might soon begin to pay for themselves.

Read more about other industries that helped fight AIDS, how companies helped alter the political climate in South Africa, and how obeisity might be the next battle for businesses over here.

Source: The Economist

Brooke Jarvis took a look at the international demand for American sperm:

• American sperm is popular in part because of the ethnic diversity of its population. Hopeful mothers around the world can find a sperm donor of similar ethnicity in the United States.
• America’s regulations governing the testing of donated sperm is also among the most stringent in the world – giving future mothers the confidence that their child will be healthy.
• America’s supply of sperm is reliable. Men are allowed to donate anonymously and be paid to do so. In the many countries where this is not true, there is a dearth in supply.
• One sperm bank sees 60% of its produce end up outside the United States.
• Denmark, the UK, Canada and Australia are top destinations for these American goods.

Read more about the sense of distance that donors feel from the offspring, the difference between male and female donors, and the activists that think America’s sperm market needs to change over here.

Source: The Verge

Walking around New York City’s Times Square it is common to see performers dressed up as famous characters such as Elmo and Batman. They expect a tip if the millions of tourists that flock to Times Square have a picture taken with them. Andrew Grossman took a look at the practice:

• The performers don’t get permission from the license holders of the characters. Sesame workshop, for example, hasn’t authorized anybody to walk around in an Elmo costume collecting tips.
• However dressing up in a costume is an activity protected by America’s First Amendment – Halloween would be far less interesting if it weren’t.
• The number of performers – and the range of characters they dress up as – is growing. Today there are around 50 in Times Square and soon there could be more than 100.
• Elmo is the most popular character. There are 8 of them roaming around Times Square.
• A performer can expect to make up to $200 per day.

Read more about the growing nuisance the performers have become, which superhero is the most popular, and more over here.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Soon algorithms rather than humans may decide whether or not you get the job writes The Economist. Some of the interesting things they’ve found:

• Applicants who have joined one or two social networks are more likely to stay in the position longer. Those who have joined four or more are not.
• Honest candidates usually make bad salespeople.
• Applicants with a criminal record are better at making customer-support calls than those without one.
• Individuals who fill out online applications with a different browser than that which came with their computer usually do better.

Read more about this future, its perils, its successes, and how businesses are implementing them over here.

Source: The Economist