Percentage of the boomerang generation (ages 25 to 34) who currently live with Mom and Dad or temporarily moved home during the recession, according to Pew Research Center research: 29
Among this group, percentage who say they're satisfied with their living arrangements: 78
Percentage of boomerang children who report that they have paid rent to their parents: 48
Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project.
Percentage of U.S. workers who skip breakfast on a regular basis before hitting the road for work, according to a study conducted for CareerBuilder: 23
Among those who do squeeze in a quick meal, rank of cereal, fruit and eggs on the list of the top breakfast choices: 1, 2 (tie)
Source: CareerBuilder.com.
Year of the first publication of the "Ten Most Wanted" list by the FBI, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1950
In the years since, number of men and women who have appeared on the list: 497
Of these, number who have been apprehended or located: 467
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Ranks of Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Visa, Wal-Mart, Yahoo, Procter and Gamble, and eBay on the list of the most influential brands in the United States, according to Ipsos MarketQuest: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Ranks of Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Visa, Coca-Cola, Samsung, YouTube, MasterCard, and Procter and Gamble on the list of the most influential brands in the world: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Source: Ipsos Marketing Open Thinking Exchange.
Percentage of Americans who admit to committing financial errors, according to a survey by financial services firm Edward Jones: 78
Ranks of "not saving enough for retirement" (26 percent), "inadequate tracking of spending" (20 percent) "taking on too much debt" (13 percent) on the list of the most common money mistakes cited by respondents: 1, 2, 3
Source: Edward Jones.
Percentage of singles who met their most recent first date online vs. 7 percent who met at a bar, according to findings from the third annual Singles in America study by Match.com: 20
Percentage of singles who reported that they have dated someone they met online: 27.5
Source: Match.com.
Percentage of travelers who said they had difficulty taking a vacation in the past 12 months, according to a Best Western Vacation Citation survey conducted with Wakefield Research: 62
Percentage of frequent business travelers who said work is more likely to ruin their vacation than bad weather: 52
Source: Wakefield Research.
Despite the perception that those who "work from home" sit around in their pajamas, never shower and are really not as productive as those who make it into an office each and every day, percentage of American workers who agree that working from home provides flexibility, according to the results of Harris Poll: 90
Percentage of American workers who are not self-employed who say they spend time during normal business hours working from home: 34
Source: Harris Interactive.
Percentage of Americans who have filed taxes who do not generally handle preparation by themselves, according to a survey conducted for RetailMeNot: 82
Percentage of filers who typically use an online service, such as Turbo Tax, to prepare their taxes, up from 22 percent: 28
Average length of time it takes consumers for their taxes to be prepared: 4 hours
Source: RetailMeNot.com.
With a new marketplace of health insurance exchanges coming in January 2014 for the more than 30 million uninsured Americans, percentage of those Americans who are confident they will be able to select the best health plan for themselves and their family, according to a national survey released by Express Scripts: 53
Source: Express Scripts.
Idle Thought
"Every advance in civilization has been denounced as unnatural while it was recent." -- Bertrand Russell, Nobel prize in literature
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)