uExpress.com: Figuratively Speaking by John MacIntyre -- (01/29/2012)

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01/29/2012

Percentage of citizens online in 24 countries who agree or agree very much that they are optimistic that 2012 will be a better year for them than 2011, according to a poll conducted by global research company Ipsos: 72

Ranks of France, Indonesia, Brazil, India and Mexico on the list of countries whose citizens "agree" they are optimistic that 2012 will be a better year: 1 (tie), 3, 4, 5

On the other end, ranks of Italy, Japan, Sweden, Hungary and Great Britain on the list of countries whose citizens are least likely to agree: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Number of restaurant meals the average American eats per week (both dining in and carry out), according to a LivingSocial survey: 4.8

Ranks of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas and Washington, D.C., on the list of the best dining out cities: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Rank of Italian, Mexican and Chinese on the list of the types of restaurants that dominate the eating scene: 1, 2, 3

Source: LivingSocial.

Percentage of workers who said they would be willing to relocate for a career opportunity, according to a nationwide study by CareerBuilder: 44

Of workers who were laid off in the last year and found new jobs, percentage who relocated to a new city or state: 20

Percentage of employers struggling to find workers for skilled positions who said they are willing to pay to relocate new employees in 2012: 32

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Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of travelers who reported that free Wi-Fi played a part in their decision as a "must have" in order to stay at a specific hotel, according to a survey by hotels.com: 38

Percentage who reported that it is the simple amenity they want to see more in hotels: 35

Source: Hotels.com.

Percentage of people who would rather have daily visits to the dentist than give up snacking, according to a survey conducted by Orville Redenbacher: 33

Percentage of people who would rather give up television than forgo snacking: 31

Source: Edelman.

Ranks of vehicle mileage, accident or frame damage, and not keeping up with regular maintenance on the list of the biggest contributors to a car's depreciation, according to a survey conducted for CarMax: 1, 2, 3

Source: CarMax.

Percentage of Americans age 50 or over who report saving on health costs by switching to cheaper generic drugs, getting free samples, stopping pills or reducing dosages, according a report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI): 20

Percentage of respondents who said they have either skipped or postponed doctor appointments to save money: 19.4

Source: EBRI.

Percentage of Americans who see no relevance in the presidential campaign to the American Dream, according to research by Xavier University's Center for the Study of the American Dream: 66

Percentage of respondents who believe that elected officials have lost sight of the American Dream: 80

Source: Xavier University's Center for the Study of the American Dream.

Percentage of Americans who plan to pay down their level of debt in 2012, according to a survey by Harris Interactive: 39

Percentage who say they will save more in the year ahead: 36

Percentage who say that they will get rid of one or more credit cards: 16

Percentage who will save more for retirement in 2012: 16

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of business technology professionals who call their internal social networking systems a great success, according to research by InformationWeek Reports: 13

Percentage of business-oriented social networking platforms that have run team or company wikis for over a year: 61

Percentage of business technology professionals who say their companies have an official or unofficial presence on Facebook: 66

Source: UBM TechWeb.

Idle Thought

"For every prohibition you create you also create an underground." -- Jello Biafra, musician

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)