Percentage of men and women who say a successful relationship with a significant other is more important than a successful career in order to achieve a happy life, according to a SnagAJob Valentine's Day survey: 75

Percentage of Americans who say that they have either sacrificed their own career for the benefit of a significant other's or would be willing to do so: 66

Source: SnagAJob.com.

When the International Association of Administrative Professionals asked its members what makes a good boss, the percentage who said that being a good communicator is essential in a manager: 37

When asked how a boss could foster better office communications, percentage who said that being clear when assigning tasks: 30

Source: International Association of Administrative Professionals.

Percentage of voters who said they believed in the American Dream immediately after the presidential election, according to Zogby interactive polls: 67

By the second week of January, percentage who said they believed in the American Dream: 56

Percentage who believe because America is the land of opportunity: 52

Source: Zogby International.

Estimated percentage increase in the U.S. market share of world international travel that it would take to add $15 billion to the U.S. economy, according to the U.S. Travel Association: 1

As a result of the 1 percent increase, number of new jobs created: 153,000

Amount of new federal tax revenue included in the $15 billion: $1.3 billion

Source: U.S. Travel Association.

Ranks of Budweiser horse circus (interest score 77.02), Budweiser horse fetch (74.61), Coca-Cola nature (72.53), Bridgestone potato head (71.73) and Budweiser horse coming to America (71.48) on the list of top Super Bowl commercials, according to HCD Research and mediacurves.com: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: HCD Research Inc.

Percentage of U.S. households that are still unprepared for the switch to digital television, according to the Nielsen Co.: 5.8

Number of homes this represents: 5.1 million

Source: Nielsen -- NetRatings.

Percentage of alpha females -- defined as "articulate, outspoken super-consumers who have a lot to say about marketing, life and the universe" -- who agree that "making do with less across the board" is now more of a priority, according to results from the 2009 Ginger's Alpha Panel Survey: 62

Percentage of alpha females who plan to have fewer nice dinners out: 65

Though alphas still plan to shop, percentage who are now "buying on sale": 60

Source: Ginger.

Number of years that clothier Eton has been in business (started in the small village of Ganghester, Sweden), according to Katrin Tijburg, brand manager for North America: 81

Price of the world's most expensive shirt, the Eton Diamond Shirt, woven from the finest Egyptian cotton and detailed with natural-colored diamond studs and presented to celebrate the opening of Eton's flagship store in the Plaza Hotel in New York City: $40,000

Source: Eton.

Percentage of financial advisers and financial planners across the country who thought President Obama's $819 billion bailout plan was a bad idea, according to the results of the exclusive online InvestmentNews survey: 45.6

Percentage of advisers who do not have much confidence in Obama's ability to fix the economy: 36.4

Source: InvestmentNews.

Percentage of people in the United States who say the morality of U.S. foreign policy is superior: 24

Among Russians, percentage who say their morality is superior: 27

In China, percentage of respondents who say their foreign policy is morally superior: 38

Source: PIPA/WorldPublicOpinion.org.

Idle Thought

"Let us enrich ourselves with our mutual differences." -- Paul Valery, poet and philosopher

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

Percentage of all Valentine's Day cards that are bought by women, according to an MSNBC report: 85

Percentage of flowers that are bought by men: 73

Source: MSNBC.com.

Rank of the motor coach industry on the list of commercial people movers in the United States, accounting for 751 million passenger trips in 2007, up nearly 20 percent from the previous figure of 631 million passenger trips in 2005, according to data released by the American Bus Association: 1

Percentage more passenger trips provided by the motor coach industry than commercial airlines (excluding foreign-flag air carriers): 9

Percentage more passenger trips provided by the motor coach industry than Amtrak and commuter rail combined: 67

Source: American Bus Association.

Estimated number of jobs that renewable-energy and energy-efficiency industries currently provide, according to an American Solar Energy Society "Green-Collar Jobs" report and Management Information Services Inc.: 9 million

Projected number of jobs that can be generated by the renewable-energy and energy-efficiency industries in the U.S. by 2030: 37 million

Percentage of all anticipated U.S. employment this represents: 17

Source: American Solar Energy Society.

Percentage of Wall Street professionals who received a year-end payout in 2008, according to a survey by eFinancialCareers, the leading career site for finance professionals: 79

When polled in October, percentage who expected a year-end bonus: 66

Source: eFinancialCareers.

Percentage shrinkage in the global institutional pension fund assets in the 11 largest pension markets -- consisting of the U.S., Japan, the U.K., Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, France, Ireland and Hong Kong -- during 2008, according to Watson Wyatt's global pension assets study: 19 (from $25 trillion to about $20 trillion)

Percentage of the average GDP this represents (down from 72 percent 10 years ago, which takes the measure back to levels last seen in 1996): 61

Source: Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

Percentage of Internet users who say they are very or fairly knowledgeable about how to protect their personal privacy online, according to a survey released by Consumer Policy Solutions: 70

Percentage who are unsure whether their online activity is tracked and recorded by companies for commercial purposes: 42

Percentage who believe that tracking by companies for commercial purposes does not happen at all: 12

Source: Consumer Policy Solutions.

Percentage of Americans who said they always (30 percent) or often (38 percent) pay attention to the in-flight safety presentation, according to a TripAdvisor survey conducted in light of the recent "Miracle on the Hudson": 68

Percentage of respondents who said they always check the locations of the exits on the plane: 73

Percentage of travelers who said they have read the seat-back instruction card in the past: 50

Source: TripAdvisor.

Percentage of small-business owners who believe that 2009 will be as good or better than 2008, according to a survey commissioned by Microsoft Office Live Small Business and Elance: 60

Despite the economy, the percentage of business owners who state that they are happier running their own business than working for someone else: 86

Source: Microsoft.

Percentage of people who rely on online and mobile navigation tools to find their way around: 25

Despite huge advances in online maps and mobile navigation, percentage of people who admit to getting lost regularly: 93

Percentage of people who find it impossible to navigate around London, a larger percentage than anywhere else in the world, according to research commissioned by Nokia: 10

Source: Nokia.

Percentage of married adults who would prefer that their significant others make them a nice dinner at home instead of taking them out to eat on Valentine's Day, according to a survey by Whole Foods Market: 81

Percentage who also agree that Valentine's Day dinner at home prepared by a significant other is more personal, thoughtful and caring: 73

Percentage who also cite financial reasons, such as the current state of the economy and the increased expense of eating out: 50

Source: Whole Foods Market.

Idle Thought

"I am a part of all that I have met." -- Alfred, Lord Tennyson, poet

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

When asked if their company had experimented with alternatives to travel in 2008, percentage of business travelers who said they had tried video conferencing, according to a survey by Orbitz: 50

Percentage of business travelers who say they don't feel video conferencing is currently or would be as productive as an in-person meeting: 85

Source: Orbitz.

For those employed workers who will not be job hunting in 2009, percentage who said that happiness at their current position is their No. 1 motivation to stay put, according to a poll commissioned by SnagAJob.com: 65

Of those who plan on looking for a new job, percentage who said their greatest motivation is fear of layoffs: 19

Among salaried workers who plan to be on the hunt, percentage who said they are most motivated by layoffs: 30

Source: SnagAJob.com.

Percentage of Americans who report adjusting their driving habits in significant ways in response to surging gas prices early last year, according to a Gallup Poll: 64

Percentage who have reverted to their old habits as prices at the pump have plunged: 12

Source: Gallup.

When car shopping, percentage of women surveyed who negotiated the lease or purchase themselves, according a survey commissioned by Automall Network: 55

Percentage who felt they'd gotten the dealer's best price: 49

Percentage who felt they'd been treated unfairly as a female: 53

Percentage of all women surveyed who said they would prefer to use a professional service to conduct the negotiations, as they felt it would save them money: 81

Source: Automall Network.

Percentage of Americans who admit the economic downturn is heaping more stress on their family, according to a survey by Country Financial: 75

Percentage who say it has sparked more arguments with their spouse or children: 33

Source: Country Financial.

Ranks of Washington, D.C., London and New York on the list of the top global cities for foreign investors' real estate dollars, according to a survey of members of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) conducted by The James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison: 1, 2, 3

Number of the investors' top 10 global cities that are located in the U.S.: 5

Ranks of the U.S., Brazil, China, the U.K. and India on the list of countries voted by AFIRE as providing the best opportunity for capital appreciation: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: AFIRE.

Percentage of American workers who feel that Barack Obama's presidency will be good for the job market, according to a survey by Adecco: 67

Source: Adecco.

Percentage of working Americans who "agree" (52 percent strongly/28 percent somewhat) that technology gives their company/organization a competitive advantage in their industry, according to an Ipsos poll: 80

Percentage of workers who say that "technology is critical to their individual productivity at work" as well as their creativity: 78

Percentage of employees who "strongly agree" that their employer gives them excellent training on all the latest innovations in their industry: 41

Source: Ipsos Reid Public Affairs.

Percentage of corporate executives who believe that having minorities in senior executive positions is particularly important to providing new ideas and innovation and to better reflect the diversity of customers, according to a survey commissioned by The Executive Leadership Council and conducted by Harris Interactive: 75

Percentage of executives who attribute the serious challenges faced by African-American women in their climb up the corporate ladder to weaker, less strategic networks available to them: 31

Percentage who attribute the challenges to inaccurate perceptions of African-American women's capabilities in climbing the corporate ladder: 24

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of technology decision-makers from around the world who believe that "poor application performance" results in significant financial losses for their organizations, according to the results of a study on information technology application performance conducted by Forrester Consulting and commissioned by Compuware: 64

Percentage of respondents who state that end users complain of poor application performance even when monitoring tools say everything is on target: 47

Percentage of the time that problems are not discovered until end users call the service desk: 64

Source: Compuware Corp.

Idle Thought

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." -- Albert Einstein

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