When CFOs were asked which part of another company would be most difficult to integrate in a merger or acquisition, percentage who cited business systems and technology, according to the Robert Half Management Resources survey of CFOs: 28
Percentage who said employees and corporate culture: 27
Percentage who cited budgets and finances: 19
Source: Robert Half Management Resources.
Percentage of people who say a vacation brings them more happiness than their wedding day, according to global research commissioned by Booking.com: 49
Percentage who say a vacation brings them more happiness than landing a new job: 50
Percentage of people who say they book a vacation just when they're in need of a happiness boost: 77
Source: Booking.com.
Ranks of Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands on the list of the economies best-equipped to develop, attract and retain business talent, according to a report from IMD business school: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Rank of the United States on the list: 14
Source: IMD International.
Approximate number of U.S. credit card holders who have snooped on the spending habits of someone with whom they share a credit card account, according to a CreditCards.com report: 17 million
Percentage of respondents who say they feel closer to the other person because of the shared account: 17
Source: Creditcards.com.
Percentage of Americans who report that their pay has increased over the past year, according to a new study by Bankrate.com: 48
Of the working Americans who state they are making more money this year, percentage who received a pay raise: 37
Percentage who found a better-paying job: 12
Source: Bankrate Inc.
Percentage of workers who spend at least some work time online doing holiday shopping, according to a survey by Careerbuilder: 53
Percentage who say they spend an hour or more doing so: 42
Percentage of employers who say they have fired somebody for shopping online during work hours: 11
Source: CareerBuilder.com.
Percentage of women who have had to use the men's bathroom because the line in the women's bathroom was too long, according to an Ipsos poll: 53
Percentage of women who reported missing moments such as the end of a movie (21 percent), a favorite song at a concert (10 percent) or an important announcement (14 percent) because they needed to use the bathroom: 40
Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.
Percentage of adults who say their at-home children believe in Santa Claus, according to a new Pew Research Center poll: 19
Percentage of children who plan to "pretend" that St. Nick will visit their house on Christmas Eve: 70
Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
Year that push-button or touch-tone phones made their debut, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1963
At that time, percentage of U.S. homes that had phones: 81
Today, percentage of U.S. households that have cellphones: 89
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Percentage of parents who believe that in today's social media-focused world, nurturing positive character traits like honesty and compassion in children is more important than it used to be, according to a study for Primrose Schools: 92
Despite this, percentage of parents who think preschool is too young for children to start learning social-emotional skills like generosity: 48
Source: Primrose Schools.
Idle Thought
"The wisest man is he who does not fancy that he is so at all." -- Nicolas Boileau-DesprCaux, poet and critic
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)