The bottom line

Social media loses its luster

Silicon Valley investors are rapidly losing interest in social media. Social media firms received only 2 percent of the venture capital spent on Internet-based companies last quarter, down from a high of 21 percent in the third quarter of 2011. Big data and cloud-computing businesses appear to be the hot plays now.

Businessweek.com

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Traffic at Google

Google now accounts for around 25 percent of all consumer Internet traffic in North America—more than Facebook, Netflix, and Instagram combined.

Wired.com

The price of sushi

The most expensive place to eat sushi in the U.S. is New York City, where the basic cost is about 26 percent higher than the national average. The cheapest city in which to enjoy the raw fish delicacy is New Orleans, where prices are 23 percent below the national average.

Bloomberg.com

Staying in place

More than three in four U.S. employees say they have no desire to move up in their organizations. Some workers credit their lack of interest in promotions with having found a good balance between career challenges and family stability; others say they are wary of office politics, managerial responsibilities, and taking on tasks that don’t excite them.

The Wall Street Journal

The housing market

Existing home sales fell by 1.2 percent in June from the month before. But all four major U.S. regions still fared better than last year—especially the Midwest, where the number of existing home sales was up 16.5 percent from 12 months ago, despite higher interest rates.

Reuters.com