oddities

Figuratively Speaking for January 27, 2017

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | January 27th, 2017

Percentage of CFOs who say the single thing that keeps them up at night is conflict with co-workers or supervisors, according to research from Robert Half Finance & Accounting: 25

Percentage who cited poor performance on the job: 25

Percentage who said finding and hiring the right talent for open jobs: 23

Source: Robert Half Finance & Accounting.

Percentage of the take for Super Bowl tickets that goes to each participating team, according to Seat Geek Inc.: 17.5

Percentage that goes to the host city: 5

Percentage that is split evenly by the remaining teams in the league: 34.8

Price range of tickets that are being sold directly to the public through On Location Experiences: $5,999 to $12,000-plus

Generally speaking, average price range of Super Bowl tickets: $2,500 to $3,000

Source: SeatGeek Inc.

Amount the average U.S. adult thinks it costs to raise a child from birth to age 1, according to a Bankrate.com report: $24,000

Amount the USDA says is the true cost: $12,680

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of all nonretired adults who have no retirement savings or pension because many simply cannot afford to contribute to any type of plan, according to research by WalletHub: 31

Ranks of Florida, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa and Colorado on the list of the best states for retirement: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Rhode Island, Alaska, the District of Columbia, Connecticut and Hawaii on the list of the worst states: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: WalletHub.

Year that the first commercial bank in the U.S. opened, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1782

Called the Bank of North America, amount that it was capitalized: $400,000

Rough estimate of that value in today's dollars: $7.5 billion

Today, number of commercial banking establishments in the U.S., employing nearly 1.6 million people: 93,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

In 2016, number of guns found in carry-on bags at U.S. airports, according to the Transportation Security Administration: 3,391

Of the guns found in 2016, percentage that were loaded: 83

In the last 10 years, percentage growth rate of guns found in carry-on bag: 300

Ranks of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (198), Dallas/Fort Worth International (192), and George Bush Intercontinental in Houston (128) on the list of top airports for gun finds: 1, 2, 3

Source: TSA.

Rank of Katie Perry's 2015 halftime Super Bowl performance, which included a giant mechanical tiger and dancing sharks, on the list of the most-watched halftime shows in history with 118.5 million viewers, according to the NFL.com website: 1

Source: NFL.com.

In 2016, combined weight of batteries and cellphones that consumers recycled throughout the U.S. and Canada, according to Call2Recycle: 14 million pounds

Source: Call2Recycle Inc.

Number of U.S. data breaches tracked in 2016, an all-time record high, according to a report by the Identity Theft Resource Center and CyberScout: 1,093

For the eighth consecutive year, rank of hacking/skimming/phishing attacks on the list of causes of data breach incidents: 1

Percentage of all breaches this represents: 55.5

Percentage increase from 2015: 17.7

Source: CyberScout.

Estimated amount that U.S. adults spent on gift cards in the last 12 months, according to research by Packaged Facts: $46 billion

Of this, amount spent on gift cards given to others: $28 billion

Amount spent on gift cards they gave to themselves: $11 billion

Amount employers spent on gift cards for their employees: $7 billion

Source: Packaged Facts.

Idle Thought

"A poor idea well written is more likely to be accepted than a good idea poorly written." -- Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for January 20, 2017

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | January 20th, 2017

Percentage of salaried employees who used all of their allotted vacation time for 2016, according to an Ipsos poll: 53

Percentage of hourly employees who used theirs by the end of 2016: 36

Percentage of both salaried and hourly employees who plan to roll over what's left of their allotted vacation time: 25

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Ranks of Peyton Manning, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Serena Williams and LeBron James on the list of the top five most marketable athletes in the United States in 2016 based on Nielsen's N-Score, awareness and likability, according to Nielsen research: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Estimated amount of money U.S. retailers lost to fraud in 2014 -- a 39 percent increase over the $23 billion in fraud losses the prior year, according to Business Insider: $32 billion

Percentage of losses that international merchants with e-commerce channels attributed to friendly fraud: 30

Percentage attributed to lost or stolen merchandise: 30

Percentage to identity theft: 22

Percentage to fraudulent requests for return/refund: 17

Source: Business Insider.

Percentage of U.S. consumers who believe pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies put patients over profits, according to a Harris Poll study: 9

Percentage who believe health insurance companies do: 16

Percentage of U.S. adults who believe health care providers (such as doctors and nurses) put patients over profits: 36

Percentage who believe hospitals put patients over profits: 23

Source: The Harris Poll.

Amount of money contributed to or collected for charity by convenience stores over the past year, according to a national survey of retailers by the National Association of Convenience Stores: $990 million

Percentage of convenience store companies responding to the survey that say they donate to charities: 97

Percentage of all convenience retailers who say they support five or more charities in their communities: 64

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Percentage of parents who have given their kids a reward for completing their chores, according to a survey by Toluna: 48

Percentage who have given their kids a reward for completing their homework: 40

Percentage of parents who have given their kids electronics to keep them quiet: 37

Percentage who have bribed their kids to get them to do something: 36

Source: Toluna QuickSurveys.

Projected annual percentage fall in the U.S. demand for tobacco products to 2020, according to research released by Freedonia Focus Reports: 1.3

Percentage share of U.S. adults who smoked cigarettes in 2015 (down from 21 percent in 2005): 15

Source: Freedonia Group (The).

Average American per capita income, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: $28,500

Average household median income: $53,500

Average family household median income: $68,000

Estimated number of personal financial advisers in the U.S.: 198,000

Source: Census Bureau.

Percentage of Americans who think they'll die in debt, according to a survey of U.S. adults from CreditCards.com: 12

Percentage who said that in 2015: 21

Percentage of people age 65 and up who say they'll never get out of debt: 28

Source: creditcards.com.

Percentage of U.S. broadband households that have Wi-Fi access, according to research from Parks Associates: 71

Percentage more computing devices these Wi-Fi households have than non-Wi-Fi households: 30

Source: Parks Associates.

Idle Thought

"It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody." -- Maya Angelou

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for January 13, 2017

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | January 13th, 2017

Percentage of CFOs who said lacking attention to detail or sloppy work is the co-worker behavior that annoys them most, according to an Accountemps survey: 35

Percentage who cited gossiping or engaging in office politics: 28

Ranks of missing deadlines, being perpetually late and presenting other's ideas as one's own on the list: 3, 4, 5

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of Americans who consume more fresh products than they did three years ago, according to a survey for Bizerba/Invatron: 48

Ranks of supermarkets (63 percent), natural and organic grocery stores (14 percent), wholesale clubs (9 percent) and discount stores (8 percent) on the list of preferred shopping venues: 1, 2, 3, 4

Percentage of Americans who use Amazon and other online retailers for their groceries: 5

Source: Bizerba/Invatron.

Year that the very first immigrant, a 15-year-old Irish girl named Annie Moore, was processed at the new facility on Ellis Island in New York Harbor, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1892

Over the course of more than 60 years, estimated number of people who flowed through the center: 12 million

In 1910, percentage of America's population that was foreign-born: 15

Today, percentage of America's population that is foreign-born: 12.9

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of the current workforce that is made up of millennials, according to Pew research: 38

In 10 years, projected percentage of America's labor pool that will be made up of millennials: 75

Percentage of millennials who are engaged in their jobs: 29

Percentage higher productivity that is enjoyed by companies with business units in the top quartile of employee engagement: 17

Source: Engaging Millennials.

Percentage of people who want to get back into shape in 2017, but don't know what to do or where to start, according to research commissioned by Jabra: 50

Percentage who admitted to having never used a personal or group trainer: 71

Percentage who aren't prepared to do a basic search online for quick tips and video workouts: 96

Source: Jabra.

In 2016, Florida's net relocation gain (the difference between inbound moves and outbound moves with Allied) to rank as the highest in the nation, according to the annual Allied Van Lines Magnet States Report: 1,316

Ranks of Arizona, Texas, North Carolina and Utah on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of California as the most mobile state with the highest number of departures and arrivals (10,590): 1

Source: Allied Van Lines.

Number of adults in the U.S. who read a newspaper in a given month -- whether it be in print, on a website or via mobile app, according to a Nielsen Scarborough study: 169 million

In total, percentage of the U.S. population who read a newspaper in a given month: 69

Percentage of monthly newspaper readers who engage with the print product: 81

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Percentage of Americans who see Cuba in a positive light, representing a majority for the first time in Gallup polling history: 54

Percentage who viewed Cuba favorably in 2014: 38

Percentage who expressed the same in 2006: 21

Source: Gallup Organization.

Between 1999 and 2014, percentage of all deaths in the United States deaths that involved firearms (487,858), according to ProCon.org: 1.2

Rank of firearm deaths on the leading causes of death in the U.S.: 12

Rank of death by firearm and death by suffocation on the list of the leading methods of suicide: 1, 2

Source: ProCon.org.

Percentage of employers who are planning to hire full-time, permanent employees over the next 12 months, according to CareerBuilder's annual job forecast: 40

Percentage who expect to hire part-time, permanent staff: 30

Percentage of all employers who anticipate adding temporary or contract workers: 50

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Idle Thought

"A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom." -- Bob Dylan

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

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