Percentage of elite professionals (those earning more than $200,000 a year) who spend one to two hours each week networking, according to a study from Upwardly Mobile Inc. with the assistance of the Graziadio School of Business Management at Pepperdine University: 31

Source: Upwardly Mobile.

Ranks of Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States on the list of the world's freest economies, according to the 2009 Index of Economic Freedom, jointly published by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Number of consecutive years that Hong Kong has led the list: 15

Source: The Heritage Foundation.

In terms of the dollar value of balances carried by credit card users in the U.S., percentage who have between $5,000 and $20,000 in credit card debt, according to a survey by Standard and Poor's: 22

Percentage who have more than $40,000 in credit card debt: 3

When looking at their debt as a percentage of their available credit, percentage of respondents who are at or near the maximum limit of their primary card: 25

Source: Standard and Poor's ExecuComp.

After viewing a video news clip featuring a man seeking $1.5 million in return for donating his kidney to his ex-wife (who allegedly had an affair while they were married), percentage of Americans who do not believe the man should receive $1.5 million from his ex-wife for the donated kidney, according to a study was conducted by HCD Research: 76

Source: HCD Research Inc.

Percentage of executives from the banking and securities, financial services and technology industries who expect accounting fraud to increase during the next two years, according to the results of a poll conducted by Deloitte LLP: 63.3

To prepare for the risks that a downward economy poses, percentage of respondents who indicated that their organizations have established protocols for conducting investigations: 45.7

Source: Deloitte LLP.

Percentage of IT security practitioners who report that someone in their organization has had a laptop lost or stolen, according to a study conducted by Absolute Software Corp. and the Ponemon Institute: 92

Percentage who report that it resulted in a data breach: 71

Source: Ponemon Institute.

Percentage of American workers whose No. 1 work-life concern is keeping their job, according to an Adecco USA survey: 69

Percentage who are saving more money than they used to for potential unemployment: 24

Source: Adecco.

Percentage of Americans who are concerned about the nation's infrastructure, according to a poll conducted by Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research: 94

Percentage who are prepared to pay one percent more in taxes to rebuild America's infrastructure: 81

Percentage who most want to see exactly where the money is being spent: 24

Ranks of energy facilities, roads and highways, and clean air on the list of the priorities and concerns of Americans: 1, 2, 3

Source: Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research.

Ranks of the ability to shop 24 hours a day, timesaving, avoiding crowds and saving gas as the chief reason consumers shop online, according to a Nielsen Online survey: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Nielsen Online.

Percentage of business travelers who say they watch more TV commercials in a hotel room compared to TV viewing at home, according to a survey conducted by Zoomerang for LodgeNet Interactive Corp: 28.3

Percentage who multitask more while watching TV at home than in a hotel: 43

Source: LodgeNet Interactive Corp.

Idle Thought

"One should count each day a separate life." -- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

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

Percentage of American employees who describe their bosses as competent, according to a workplace survey by Randstad USA: 50

Percentage who perceive their boss as a great role model and mentor: 29

Percentage who believe their boss is their biggest advocate: 19

Percentage who feel motivated by their boss: 22

Source: Randstad USA.

Percentage of online shoppers who change their passwords only when or if required, according to the findings from the 2008 PayPal Trust and Safety Study: 34

Estimated percentage of consumers who use social networking sites where they post important family dates, family members' names, nicknames or pets' names that they use to create their passwords: 40

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Ranks of Sarah Palin, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Phelps, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as the people that U.S. adults would most like to be neighbors with, according to a survey by real estate Web site Zillow.com: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of Britney Spears, Rosie O'Donnell, Joe the Plumber and Lindsay Lohan as the people that U.S. adults would least like to be neighbors with: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Zillow.

Percentage of Millennials (aged 14 to 25) who view the computer as more of an entertainment device than their TV, according to Deloitte's third edition State of the Media Democracy survey assessing the preferences of consumers aged 14 years to 75 years from Brazil, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States: 75

Percentage of Millennials who are regularly searching, downloading and listening to music over the Internet: 80

Percentage who are also regularly socializing online (via social networking sites, chat rooms or message boards): 73

Source: Deloitte LLP.

Even with slower hiring predicted for 2009, percentage of workers who say finding a new job is on their list of New Year's resolutions, according to a CareerBuilder.com survey: 19

Percentage who say they actually plan to leave their current job before the end of the year: 19

Percentage of workers who say the economy and the tightening job market are not making them hold off on their plans to change jobs: 60

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of financial advisers who are worried the industry's reputation has been tarnished by Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion fraud, according to a poll from InvestmentNews: 69

Percentage of advisers who reached out to clients in December to reassure them that their assets were safe from similar schemes: 59.3

Source: InvestmentNews.

Average percentage of total revenues of S&P 500 companies that come from sources outside the U.S., according to the first Egon Zehnder International Global Board Index: 36.9

Percentage representation of foreign nationals on S&P 500 boards: 6.6

Percentage of board members who have no international work experience: 73

Despite the importance of current and projected international revenues, percentage of these companies that still have no foreign nationals serving on their boards: 56

Source: Egon Zehnder International.

Percentage of travelers who stay within the confines of their hotel until checkout, according to research by OnePoll on behalf of Samsung: 45

Percentage who do not even leave their room: 18

Source: OnePoll.

Percentage of American women who would be willing to give up highlights/lowlights to save money, according to the Sally Beauty Supply Best Tressed survey: 33

Percentage of women who say they would never give up professional trims, even in a sinking economy: 56

Source: Sally Beauty Company Inc.

Percentage of the U.S. adult population incarcerated or under community supervision at the end of 2007, according to the Office of Justice Programs' Bureau of Justice Statistics: 3.2 (or one in every 31 adults)

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Idle Thought

"Sooner or later, those who win are those that think they can." -- Richard Bach, author

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

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.)