Ranks of Detroit, Philadelphia and Los Angeles as the most expensive places to own and operate a 2009 mid-size vehicle, according to an analysis by Runzheimer International: 1, 2, 3

Annual cost of vehicle expenses, including operating costs (fuel, tires and maintenance) and ownership costs (insurance, depreciation, license and registration fees) in Detroit: $13,199

Source: Runzheimer.

Number of seconds of delay in the response times of Web applications after which business performance begins to suffer, according to a report by Aberdeen Group: 5.1

For every additional second of delay in the response times, projected percentage decline in page views: 11

Percentage decline in conversations: 7

Percentage decline in overall customer satisfaction: 16

Source: Aberdeen Group.

Percentage of travelers who expect hotel entertainment systems to at least match their home set-up, according to research by OnePoll on behalf of Samsung: 75

Percentage who expect an even higher standard: 26

Source: OnePoll.

Percentage of executives who cited better communication as the best remedy for low morale, according to a survey developed by Accountemps: 48

Percentage of respondents who said lack of open and honest communication with staff members tops the list of management missteps that can erode morale: 33

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of single men in the United Kingdom who were expecting to reduce the amount they would spend on a date due to the economic meltdown, according to research by FreeDating.co.uk: 12

Percentage of guys who believe the man should pick up the tab for a first date: 64

Percentage of women who would expect their date to settle the bill: 35

Source: FreeDating.co.uk.

Percentage of Americans who do not know that you have to pay both the interest on your entire balance as well as a late fee when making a late credit card payment, according to the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy: 69

Percentage of respondents who cannot identify the percentage that service fees typically take out of a $20 ATM withdrawal: 97

Percentage who either didn't know how much the fee would be or thought it was less than it really is: 90

Source: Econ4U.

Estimated number of American households that lost economic security between 2000 and 2006, according to a report published by the policy center Demos and the Institute for Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University: 4 million

Percentage decline in the median financial assets (not including home equity) held by middle-class families during the period: 22

Percentage rise in monthly housing expenses for the middle class: 9

Source: Demos.

Percentage of Americans who set aside money every month for emergencies and a rainy day, according to a survey released by Visa Inc.: 30

Percentage who set aside money for retirement: 20

Percentage who set aside money for education: 10

Source: VISA USA.

When Americans are asked to name their favorite sport to watch, percentage who said football, the runaway winner, according to a Gallup Poll: 41

Ranks of baseball (10 percent), basketball (9 percent), ice hockey (4 percent) and soccer (3 percent) on the list of favorite sports Americans most like to watch: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of human resource professionals who say it is important for their employees to have home computers, according to a survey of HR professionals by Purchasing Power at the 21st Annual Benefits Forum & Expo and the Society for Human Resource Management: 94.5

Percentage of them who say that more than 30 percent of their employees don't have computers at home: 26.5

Source: Kaiser Marketing Group.

Idle Thought

"I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done." -- Henry Ford

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

Year that the tradition of New Year's resolutions had its beginning, according to goalsguy.com: 153 B.C.

Year that Jan. 1 became the beginning of the New Year, when Julius Caesar developed a calendar that would more accurately reflect the seasons than previous calendars: 46 B.C.

Year that the song "Auld Lang Syne" was written by Robert Burns, and is now sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the New Year: 1788

Source: goalsguy.com.

Ranks of losing weight, managing debt, saving money, getting a better job and getting fit on the list of the most popular New Year's resolutions, according to USA.gov: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: USA.gov.

Estimated annual cost to the U.S. economy in lowered employee productivity and reduced innovation caused by information overload (described as an excess of information that results in the loss of ability to make decisions, process information and prioritize tasks), according to research from Basex: $900 billion

Percentage of their day that workers spend managing and searching for information: 50

Source: Basex Inc.

Estimated percentage of current congressional members who have degrees in the business, economics or finance fields, according to an analysis of economic education among members of Congress conducted by A Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy: 15

Percentage of members who actually studied economics: 6.7

Percentage of congressional members who have received no formal schooling in economics or business yet are responsible for solving the biggest economic crisis in more than 70 years: 80

Source: Econ4U.

Rank of Italy as the top international country for travelers in 2008 as well as the overall top destination for packaged travel, according to annual polling of member companiesby the U.S. Tour Operator's Association: 1

Number of consecutive years that Italy has held this position: 6

Rank of Latin America -- for the first time -- on the list of the most popular international regions: 1

Source: Kundell Communications.

Date that He PingPing, the world's smallest man, met Svetlana Pankratova of the world's longest legs, according to Guinness World Records highlights for 2008: Sept. 16, 2008

Standing 6 feet 5 inches tall, length of the Russian beauty's legs versus the total height of the tiny 20-year-old He PingPing from Inner Mongolia: 51.9 inches vs. 29.4 inches

Source: Guinness Book of World Records.

Percentage of respondents that expect a decline in their own company's business performance in 2009, according to Mercer global survey: 81

Percentage that are likely to make significant workforce reductions: 35

Rank of worry about retirement investments on the list of employee concerns, respondents report, outweighing employee anxiety about job security: 1

Source: Mercer.

Ranks of "The Shack" by William P. Young, "The Appeal" by John Grisham, "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer and "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs on the list of the top sales of adult fiction, according to the Nielsen Company: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle, "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert and "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson on the list of the top sales of adult nonfiction: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Of the 352 companies cited by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for financial statement fraud from 2000 to 2007, percentage that experienced a stock price decline, according to a study from the Deloitte Forensic Center: 70

Of those, percentage that experienced a decline of at least 50 percent: 53

Percentage that delisted from primary stock exchanges: 32

Source: Deloitte Forensic Center.

When asked about their greatest staffing concern in the current economy, percentage of senior executives who cited employee retention, according to a survey developed by Robert Half International: 39

Percentage who said recruitment: 22

Percentage who cited productivity: 17

Percentage who cited employee morale: 17

Source: Robert Half International.

Idle Thought

"Nothing is illegal if one hundred businessmen decide to do it." -- Andrew Young, author, civil rights activist, U.S. congressman, mayor and U.N. ambassador

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

Ranks of Warren Buffett, Bill and Melinda Gates, George Kaiser, George Soros and William Barron Hilton on the list of BusinessWeek's "The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists": 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Number of years Warren Buffett has topped the list: 3

Amount given by Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, since 2004: $40.655 billion

Amount given by Bill and Melinda Gates, Microsoft's co-founder and his wife, since 2004: $2.625 billion

Source: BusinessWeek

Percentage of Americans who rate the honesty and ethical standards of nurses either "high" or "very high," according to Gallup's annual "Honesty and Ethics in Professions" survey: 84

Number of years in a row that nurses have enjoyed top public accolades: 7

Ranks of pharmacists (70 percent), high school teachers (65 percent), medical doctors (64 percent), police (56 percent) and clergy (56 percent) on the Gallup list: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Percentage of Americans who rate the honesty and ethical standards of congressmen either "high" or "very high": 12

Percentage of Americans who rate the honesty and ethical standards of bankers either "high" or "very high": 23

Source: Gallup

Ranks of cheap airline tickets, used cars and cheap apartments for rent on the list of Ask.com's "Top Deals and Steals Searches of 2008," according to Ask.com: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of maverick, socialism and economy on the list of Dictionary.com's "Top Gainers of 2008": 1, 2, 3

Ranks of "How do I get pregnant?" "How do I lose weight?" and "How do I write a resume?" on the list of Ask.com's "Top Question Searches of 2008": 1, 2, 3

Source: Ask.com.

Ranks of Charles Prince, former CEO of Citigroup, Rick Wagoner, chairman and CEO of General Motors, and John J. Harris, chairman and CEO of Nestle Waters, on the list of the worst corporate "Scrooges" of 2008 -- the CEOs who exhibited the worst kinds of unbridled greed and a lack of compassion or concern for others over the last year, according to Co-op America, in conjunction with its Responsible Shopper program: 1, 2, 3

Source: Co-op America.

Percentage of companies that plan to reduce the size of their executive bonus pool compared with last year, according to a Watson Wyatt survey: 49

Of these companies, percentage that expect a cut of up to 20 percent: 30

Percentage that expect a cut of 20 to 50 percent: 35

Source: Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

Ranks of Hawaii, London, Paris, Aruba and New York City on the list of the top 10 holiday dream escapes, according to TripAdvisor: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: TripAdvisor.

Rank of the quote "I can see Russia from my house," delivered by comedian Tina Fey portraying Sarah Palin as the Most Memorable Quote of 2008, according to a survey by SpinVox: 1

Source: SpinVox.

Percentage of business travelers who say they've traveled more or about the same in 2008 as they did a year ago, according to findings of the Orbitz for Business/Business Traveler Magazine Year-End Survey: 71

Percentage of travelers who say they've felt pressure to curb their travel expenses during the course of 2008: 79

Percentage who say they have scaled back but are still traveling: 51

Source: Orbitz.

Ranks of Hurricane Dolly, Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Ike, the flooding in the Midwest and the tornadoes that devastated Indiana, on the list of the top disasters affecting the U.S. in 2008, as announced by The American Red Cross: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Estimated number of shelters set up by the Red Cross to alleviate these disasters: 900

Estimated number of meals and snacks served: 16.5 million

Number of comfort and cleanup kits distributed: 275,000

Source: American Red Cross.

Of the 352 companies cited by the Securities and Exchange Commission for financial statement fraud from 2000 to 2007, percentage that experienced a stock price decline, according to a study from the Deloitte Forensic Center: 70

Of those, percentage that experienced a decline of at least 50 percent: 53

Percentage that experienced securities class action litigation cases: 24

Source: Deloitte Forensic Center.

Average amount spent per person, per trip in the United States by overseas travelers, who stay longer and spend more money than domestic travelers or visitors from Canada and Mexico, according to the Travel Industry Association of America: $4,000

Percentage of U.S. international visitors who are from overseas: 43

Percentage of the $122.3 billion spent by international visitors to the United States in 2007 that is attributed to overseas travelers: 79

Source: Travel Industry Association of America.

Idle thought

"There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second." -- Logan Pearsall Smith

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