October 3 in business history: an exchange rate of one to one, 0.39 of a share, and 340 million downloads

Three 3 Octobers, and on each one somebody put a number on something new by comparing it with the business it replaced. In 1990 East Germany's wages, prices and rents were converted into West German marks at par. In 2002 eBay valued PayPal at 0.39 of its own share. In 2014 a public-radio spinoff gave a podcast away and sold sponsorship on it.

In each case the comparison set the price, and the price set what happened next.

On 3 October 1990 the German Democratic Republic ceased to exist and its territory joined the Federal Republic of Germany. The business of the day had started three months earlier.

The State Treaty on Monetary, Economic and Social Union, signed on 18 May 1990, made the West German mark East Germany's currency from 1 July 1990 1. Wages, salaries, pensions and rents were converted at one to one. Savings went at one to one up to 2,000 marks for anyone under 14, 4,000 marks up to age 59 and 6,000 marks beyond that; larger sums went at two to one 1. Chancellor Helmut Kohl had backed the one-to-one rate against the advice of leading economists 1.

The comparison was the difficulty. East German productivity in 1990 was about a third of West Germany's, so paying eastern workers in western money at western rates priced their output above what it could sell for 2.

The assets went onto the market behind the wages. The Treuhandanstalt, an agency under the federal finance ministry, took on roughly 12,000 former state-owned enterprises and four million jobs 3. By the time it closed at the end of 1994, 30 per cent of those enterprises had been liquidated and a third of the four million jobs remained 3. Its president, Detlev Rohwedder, had told the press in the autumn of 1990 that the East German economy was worth 600 billion marks; the enterprises' legacy debts alone came to about 120 billion, and the accumulated privatisation losses were reported at 260 billion 3. By 2023 East German GDP per capita stood at 66 per cent of the west's, and fewer than 10 per cent of Germany's major companies were headquartered in the east, which holds about 17 per cent of the population 2.

Decision mirror: Germany is selling again. In May 2026 the finance ministry opened the sale of its 99.12 per cent of Uniper, the energy group it nationalised in 2022 after a €13.5 billion bailout, under a European Commission requirement to fall to 25 per cent plus one share by the end of 2028 4. Uniper is valued at about €18 billion, and the government expects the transactions to close by November 2026.

eBay finished buying PayPal on 3 October 2002, three months after the two companies agreed terms 5. The price was fixed as a ratio of shares: 0.39 of an eBay share for each PayPal share, a tax-free swap eBay valued at about $1.5 billion on its own share price of 5 July 2002, plus about $17 million of costs 5. PayPal's shareholders approved the deal that day — holders of about 65 per cent of the shares outstanding, and more than 99 per cent of the shares voted 5.

eBay was buying the checkout its sellers had already chosen. About 60 per cent of PayPal's business ran on eBay, the rest with small merchants; eBay had 46 million users and PayPal operated in 38 countries 6. eBay shut its own competing service, eBay Payments by Billpoint, and phased out PayPal's gaming business by the end of 2002 5. Peter Thiel resigned as PayPal's chief executive the same day, and an eBay senior vice-president took over his responsibilities 5.

The comparison was eBay's own share price, and it understated what PayPal was becoming. eBay separated PayPal in July 2015 7. The two are now almost the same size: PayPal is worth $45.5 billion and eBay $47.3 billion 89.

Decision mirror: On 15 July 2026 Stripe and Advent International offered $60.50 a share for PayPal, more than $53 billion 10, 39 per cent above PayPal's price before the first report of talks 11. It would have been the largest merger in payments. On 27 August the bidders walked away, PayPal's shares fell 12 per cent the next morning, and the two sides still disagree about whether the shares had risen on the bid or on PayPal's own results 11.

Serial's first episode went out on 3 October 2014: a weekly spinoff of the public-radio programme This American Life, reported and hosted by Sarah Koenig, distributed by WBEZ in Chicago 1213. The first season ran to 18 December 2014. The episodes were free to download, and MailChimp and other sponsors bought the advertising 12.

The audience that arrived had no precedent in the comparison. By 9 February 2015, season one had been downloaded more than 68 million times; by February 2016, more than 80 million; and the show became the fastest podcast to reach five million downloads on iTunes 13. Seasons one and two passed 340 million downloads by September 2018 13.

The comparison was radio, and the show was priced the way radio is: given away, paid for by short sponsorship spots. The New York Times bought Serial Productions in July 2020, keeping Koenig and her fellow producer Julie Snyder on staff 14.

Decision mirror: American podcast advertising revenue reached $2.9 billion in 2025, up 17.6 per cent on 2024, and roughly 71 per cent of American podcast creators now also publish video versions of their shows 15.