Rank of 2015 as the year in which there are more wealthy Americans at all wealth segments ($100,000 to $1 million in net worth, $1 to $5 million, $5 to $25 million and $25 million plus), according to the Spectrem Market Insights: 1
Source: Spectrem Group.
Number of bills paid by the average household, according to a recent survey by Synergistics Research: 13
Percentage of those that are paid online by computer: 37
Percent that are paid by personal check: 22
Source: Synergistics Research Inc.
Percentage of Americans who believe couples should attend marriage counseling before they marry, according to a Harris poll: 77
Percentage who believe having parents who are divorced is better for children than having parents who are together but unhappy: 71
Source: Harris Interactive.
Percentage of CFOs who say if they gave their staff greater autonomy over how and when they do their jobs (such as flexible work hours, working remotely or less direct supervision) that their productivity would increase, according to a survey by Robert Half Management Resources: 32
Percentage who say they would see a decrease in productivity: 13
Percentage who see no change: 55
Source: Robert Half Finance & Accounting.
Percentage of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) who have never been married, according to a Pew Internet survey: 68
Percentage of the Silent Generation (born between 1928 and 1945) who, when they were the same age as millennials, were never married: 32
Source: PEW Internet and American Life Project.
Rank of Ireland as the country having the fastest-rising property market, with residential prices jumping almost 17 percent, according to the Global Property Guide: 1
Rank of Europe as the fastest-rising housing market region in the world: 1
Source: Global Property Guide.
Percentage of Americans who have no money set aside for emergencies, according to CreditDonkey.com: 26
Percentage of American households that function without a bank account: 7.7
Source: CreditDonkey.com.
Year that the Exchange National Bank in Chicago opened the first drive-up, offering its motoring customers 10 teller windows with sliding drawers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1946
Today, estimated number of banks with drive-up tellers: 94,000
Number of employees who work in these banks: 1.5 million
Estimated assets: $15 trillion
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Percentage of Americans who want to spend their golden years in another city or state, according to a survey by Bankrate.com: 60
Percentage who said living close to family is the most important factor in deciding where to retire: 24
Source: Bankrate Inc.
Percentage of American fliers who report that they "have been intimate" with someone on a plane, according to a survey by Expedia: 5
Of that figure, percentage who report having been intimate with someone who they were traveling with: 3
Source: Expedia.
Idle Thought
"The great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets used up. That is possible for him who never argues and strives with men and facts, but in all experience retires upon himself, and looks for the ultimate cause of things in himself." -- Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Laureate
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)