Percentage of small-business owners who said that providing financial stability for themselves and their family is their key motivator, according to research from specialist insurer Hiscox: 37
Percentage who cited personal ambition/recognition: 24
Percentage who cited belief in their product/service: 22
Percentage who just wanted to be wealthy: 14
Source: Hiscox.
Percentage of members of Congress who lack an academic background in business or economics, according to a study by the Employment Policies Institute: 78
Of the 23 members on the Senate budget committee, number who have a business/accounting or economics background: 5
On the House side, out of 37 members, number who hold academic degrees in business or economics fields: 8
Percentage of members of Congress who majored in either government-related fields or the humanities: 56
Percentage who majored in science or technology-related fields: 12
Source: Employment Policies Institute.
Year of the first recorded earthquake in the Eastern U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1886
Estimated reading on the Richter scale -- even now, considered among the most powerful quakes to hit the nation: 7.5
Number of people killed by two shocks, eight minutes apart in the early morning: 60
From 2000 to 2009, estimated number of earthquakes in the U.S., most of them minor: 21,000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Percentage of parents who play computer games with their children every day, according to the results of an academic study by PopCap in partnership with Goldsmiths University: 32
Percentage of those who described this as quality time: 80
Percentage who reported greater bonding with their children as a result of playing these games: 33
Percentage of parents who state that their computer game-playing children also exercise regularly and eat healthily: 75
Source: PopCap Games.
Percentage of Americans who are less comfortable with their savings now compared to 12 months ago, according to the Bankrate poll: 47
Percentage of Americans who say their overall financial situation is worse now than 12 months ago: 35
Source: Bankrate Inc.
Percentage of Americans who are making fewer trips to the grocery store to save money on gas, according to Deloitte's consumer food and product insight survey: 72
Percentage who are purchasing fewer items overall: 41
Source: Deloitte.
Percentage of senior leaders and hiring managers in America's Fortune 500 and large companies (5,000 employees or more) who engage in virtual teaming who said earning trust was a challenge for managers of virtual teams, according to a study conducted on behalf of Brandman University by Forrester Consulting: 57
Ranks of solid communication skills, ability to self-pace and work independently, and accountability on the list of skills for employee success in a virtual working environment: 1, 2, 3
Source: Brandman University.
Percentage of U.S. adults online who reported that they have used an online coupon or coupon code at least once, according to a survey conducted on behalf of CouponCabin.com: 74
Percentage who reported that they use online coupons or coupon codes at least once a month: 36
Percentage who said they use an online coupon or coupon code at least once a week: 11
Source: CouponCabin.
Percentage of CFOs who said employee morale has improved significantly in the last 12 months, according to an Accountemps survey: 8
Percentage of respondents who said the mood among their teams is unchanged from a year ago: 53
Source: Accountemps.
A decade after 9/11, percentage of Americans who believe terrorism is the most important issue in the world, according to a poll conducted on behalf of United Methodist Communications: 16
Percentage of Americans who cited economic weakness and unemployment as the chief concern for most Americans: 32
Source: United Methodist Communications.
Idle Thought
"The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives." -- Albert Schweitzer
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)