Category — Economy

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

14 – The number of hours the average college student at a four-year college spends studying each week. That’s down from 24 hours in 1961, according to research by two California economics professors. (Source: The Boston Globe)

1 in 6 – Approximately one in six American adults were without health insurance in June, on par with the same month one year ago, but up significantly from June 2008. (Source: Gallup Inc.)

469 – The number of people employed by the White House this year, down 17 positions from 2009. The $39 million White House payroll does not include the president’s $400,000 annual salary or the cost of the vice president’s office, which is an arm of the Senate. (Source: Yahoo News)

26.5% – The percentage of U.S. consumers—43.3 million people—whose credit score is 599 or lower, according to Fico Inc., which ranks creditworthiness on a 300-850 scale. Historically, just 15% of consumers have had such low scores, marking them as big risks for lenders. (Source: The Associated Press)

56% – The percentage of U.S. voters who now believe offshore oil drilling should be allowed, while 26% oppose it. One-in-five voters (19%) are undecided. That’s down from 60% last month. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

25% – Just 25% of adults nationwide share a favorable opinion of BP, the oil company chiefly responsible for the massive oil leak in the Gulf. Two-out-of-three (66%) Americans do not have a favorable view of the oil giant. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

$116,500 – The price paid by an unidentified phone bidder for an enamel street sign that marked the intersection of Broad Street and Wall Street in the late 19th century. It stood in front of the J.P. Morgan building in downtown New York. Christie’s, the auctioneer, estimated its value at $60,000 to $80,000 before the sale. (Source: Associated Press)

399 – The number of rulemakings that are mandated by the financial regulatory-reform bill. The overhaul, if it passes in its current form, also will require 47 studies. (Source: Bloomberg)

49% – The percentage of adult Americans surveyed who said that they trust the big-three technology firms — Apple, Google and Microsoft — compared with 8% for Twitter and 13% for Facebook. Just 8% of all adults said that they trust traditional media. (Source: Zogby International)

$75 Million – The cost of a 90,000-square-foot home for sale outside Orlando, Fla. Dubbed “Versailles,” it is the largest home for sale in the United States. The home has 23 bathrooms, 13 bedrooms, 10 kitchens and three pools. Construction was halted last year, however, so the mansion isn’t finished and is priced “as is.” (Source: Associated Press)

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

28% – The percentage of U.S. adults classified as obese last year, unchanged from 2008. But 34.7% of Americans said last year that they engaged in regular exercise, up from 31.9% in 2008. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

47% – Forty-seven percent of U.S. voters agree that it was appropriate for President Obama to fire America’s top commander in Afghanistan this week. Thirty-six percent (36%) disagree and say the president should not have removed General Stanley McChrystal from his command. Another 17% are not sure. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

127 – The number of decibels produced by South Africa’s vuvuzela, the plastic trumpet that has become a fixture at World Cup matches and easily drowns out a chain saw (producing 100 decibels). A global hearing foundation has warned that extended exposure to noises above 85 decibels can cause permanent hearing damage. (Source: Reuters)

49% – The percentage of Americans who say that BP should continue to be in charge of efforts to control the spill, compared with 45% who say that the federal government should assume responsibility. Six percent are undecided. (Source: Gallup Inc.)

40% – The chance that BP PLC will default on its debt within five years, as implied by trading in credit default swaps on the company. In mid-May, CDS trading implied a 7% risk of default. (Source: CMA DataVision)

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

1% – Neckties are among the least-popular Father’s Day gifts, making up just 1% of presents. But it’s a huge day for tie makers: 10% of the 29 million ties sold in the U.S are for dad’s day. (It’s the second-biggest occasion, behind Christmas, for the $418 million business.) (Source: FastCompany.com)

FATHER’S DAY FACTS! – The First Fathers Day observance was in Spokane Washington, on June 19th, 1910, after Sonora Dodd, A child being raised by a single father, encouraged churches to honor dads upon hearing a Mother’s Day-themed sermon. (Source: FastCompany.com)

$91 – Consumers spent an average of $91 on Father’s Day in 2009. (Source: FastCompany.com)

13% – Thirteen percent of U.S. companies offer paid paternity leave. Of the top 15 Western economies, only the United States, Switzerland, and Australia do not mandate it. (Source: FastCompany.com)

2 Million – There are at least 2 million father-son businesses in the United States. Comcast, the New York Times Co., and Timberland are three of the larger companies that have been handed down from father to son. (Source: FastCompany.com)

158K – The United States has an estimated 158,000 stay-at-home dads, according to 2009 U.S. Census data. (Source: FastCompany.com)

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

$10 Million – The expected auction price for the 1964 Aston Martin driven by Sean Connery in “Goldfinger” and fitted with twin machine guns, revolving license plates and ejector seat. (Source: Bloomberg)

27% – The percentage of surveyed Americans who will travel less this summer than last. Eighteen percent will travel more, 37% expect to travel the same amount, and 18% don’t travel much. (Source: Gallup Inc.)

71% – Overall, 71% of adults believe government workers should be paid the same as comparable workers in the private sector, while only 14% believe they should be paid less. Eight percent (8%) think government workers should be paid more. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

66% – The percentage of polled American adults who couldn’t name a single current Supreme Court justice. The justice named by the largest proportion of respondents (19%) was Clarence Thomas. (Source: Findlaw.com)

33% – Upper-income Americans’ self-reported spending rose 33% to an average of $145 per day in May — up from $109 per day in April 2010 and May 2009, and the highest monthly average since November 2008. (Source: Gallup)

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

58% – Fifty-eight percent of U.S. voters say a child born to an illegal immigrant in this country should not automatically become a citizen of the United States. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

$41 Million – The amount to be paid to the heirs of Omnicom Group Inc. chief executive John Wren when he dies. Seventeen of Fortune 100 companies provide such “golden coffin” death benefits. (Source: Crain’s New York Business)

70% – The percentage of the world’s 300 biggest companies that intend to spend at least 0.5% of revenue over the next year on programs to fight climate change. Ninety percent of those companies said the moves are being driven by customer demand. (Source: Bloomberg)

16% – The percentage of Americans surveyed who say they do not have a specific religious identity, up from nearly zero in the 1950s. (Source: Gallup Inc.)

$300,000 – The estimated overdue charges on a book borrowed from the New York Society Library and returned last week. The book, “The Law of Nations” by Emer de Vattel, was borrowed by George Washington on Oct. 5,1789. (Source: Reuters)

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

10% – Registered voters’ enthusiasm for voting in the 2010 midterm elections has declined to 30% after peaking at 40% in late March, with decreases among both Republicans and Democrats. Voter preferences remain divided, with 47% currently supporting the Democratic candidate and 46% the Republican. (Source: Gallup, Inc.)

68% – The number of wealthy women investors in the United States is growing at a faster rate than that of men. In a two-year period, the number of wealthy women in the United States grew 68%, while the number of men grew only 36 percent. (Source: Senior Market Advisor)

$13B – The annual revenue generated by the Minerals Management Service, the U.S. agency overseeing offshore-drilling safety, by partnering with companies such as BP PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp. to develop oil and natural-gas resources. The agency is the government’s second-largest money maker, trailing only the Internal Revenue Service. (Source: Bloomberg)

45% – Forty five percent of women manage the family’s finances versus 37 percent of men.(Source: Senior Market Advisor)

$66,900 – The average account balance in 401(k) plans held by Fidelity Investments at the end of the first quarter, up 41% from a year ago, thanks to gains in the stock market and resumed contributions to retirement accounts. (Source: Fidelity Investments)

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

$66 – The average amount surveyed Americans spent per day in April, up 10% from a year ago. Driving the increase was a 13% rise in middle – and lower-income spending, to $59 per day. (Source: Gallup, Inc)

32% – Only 32% of all voters are at least somewhat confident that their representatives in Congress have the voters’ best interests in mind. Sixty-six percent (66%) don’t share the confidence, down 10 points from October 2008. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

28% – The percentage of American working adults who say they could do their boss’ job better than the boss does it. Fifty-eight percent say they couldn’t and 15% are undecided. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

$14.2 Million – The average pay of the 16 female chief executives of companies in the S&P 500—43% more than the male average. (Source: Bloomberg)

66% – The percentage that people are increasing their risk of heart attack, angina and death from heart disease as a result of working 10 or more hours a day when compared with those working a “normal” seven-hour day, according to a study of more than 10,000 British civil servants. (Source: Reuters)

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

28 – The number of days it took Apple Inc. to sell 1 million iPad units—much faster than the 74 days it took the iPhone to pass the million-unit sales mark in 2007. (Source: Rueters)

59% – Fifty-nine percent of voters still favor legislation like Arizona’s that authorizes local police to stop and verify the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant. Thirty-two percent (32%) oppose such a law. Those figures are virtually unchanged from a week ago. (Source: Rasmussen Reports, LLC)

6.2 Cents – The price of the metal in a 5-cent U.S. “nickel” coin, which also contains copper. The price of nickel has jumped 42% since the start of the year, compared with gains of less than 5% for aluminum and copper. (Source: The Financial Times)

$250,000 – The minimum asking bid on eBay for two sets of golf clubs claimed to have been used by Tiger Woods to win the U.S. and British Opens in 2000. The auction website removed the listing after the golfer said that both sets of clubs are in his garage. (Source: Bloomberg)

60% – Though most voters nationwide are concerned about impending terrorist attacks on the United States, the majority (60%)
says the government did a good or excellent job responding to the attempted terrorist car bombing in New York’s Times Square earlier this month.(Source: Rasmussen Reports, LLC)

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

600K – The number of workers hired by the Commerce Department to conduct door-to-door canvassing for the 2010 Census until mid-July. The agency said the hiring could lower the unemployment rate by several tenths of a percentage point. (Source: The Associated Press)

15% – Boomers are almost 15% wealthier than the previous generation was at the same age. The middle wave of the silent generation reached age 50 in 1986 and had an average household income of $76,975 (in current dollars); the middle wave of the boomers reached age 50 in 2006 and had an average income of $90,067. (Source: US Census)

0 – The number of women that have served on a U.S. Navy submarine. The first are expected to report for duty in 2012. (Source: The Associated Press)

$100K – The average amount the financial crisis and recession cost U.S. households in lost wealth and income. (Source: Treasury Department)

2/3 – Two-thirds of middle boomers (those aged 52 to 58, comprising 29 million of the group) have at least one parent still living, and half still have children living at home. Half have grandchildren. Some 72 percent provide financial assistance to their children and grandchildren, averaging about $38,000 over the past five years (Source: MetLife Study of Boomers in the Middle)