The bottom line

No-growth small businesses

Less than a quarter of America’s 27 million small businesses have employees. An even smaller portion grow beyond 20 employees. Research from the University of Chicago finds that 75 percent of small-business owners aren’t aiming for growth at all, but are simply looking for a steady job as their own boss.

The Wall Street Journal

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Swift sales for Taylor's new album

Taylor Swift sold 1.2 million copies of her latest album in its first week, the highest first-week sales total in more than a decade. The singer achieved the feat by refusing to release any singles via streaming sites like Spotify, which pay artists pennies on the dollar, and instead using only sales venues that pushed the full album purchase.

NPR.org

Predicting doctors' costs

The best predictor of a doctor’s costs to the health-care system is how long he or she has been practicing medicine. Doctors with less than a decade of experience had annual costs more than 13 percent above doctors with more than four decades of experience, according to a recent RAND Corp. study.

ScientificAmerican.com

Airlines face shortfall in qualified pilots

U.S. airlines face a huge shortfall in qualified pilots. More than half of current pilots are age 50 or over, and new federal regulations require newly hired pilots to have at least 1,500 hours of flying time. All U.S. airlines will need to find over 65,000 more pilots before 2020.

The Wall Street Journal

Will Japan slip into recession?

Japan is close to slipping into recession. The world’s third biggest economy shrank 3.5 percent between July and September, and economists forecast a gloomy end to the year, as the country’s ongoing territorial dispute with China hammers exports.

Associated Press