Clawing my way out of the abyss

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

51% – More than three-quarters of Americans have heard about the state of Arizona’s new immigration law, and of these, 51% say they favor it and 39% oppose it. (Source: Gallup, Inc.)

$1.7 Billion – The estimated combined loss incurred by airlines during the six-day travel shutdown due to the eruption of the volcano at Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. (Source: Associated Press)

55% – The percentage of surveyed business executives who believe Goldman Sachs is guilty of fraud. Twenty-one percent feel the company is innocent, while 24% said they were unsure. (Source: Argyle Executive Forum)

33% – The percentage of American teenagers who send more than 100 text messages a day, or more than 3,000 texts a month. Half of all teens send 50 or more text messages a day. (Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project)

No. 1 – Fifteen countries attract about 500 million of the roughly 700 million adults worldwide who say they would like to relocate permanently to another country if they could. Gallup finds the U.S. is clearly the No. 1 desired destination among these potential migrants, with more than 165 million saying they would like to move there, and neighboring Canada is a distant second with 45 million. (Source: Gallup, Inc.)

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

8.8% – The vacancy rate at big U.S. shopping malls, the highest rate in at least a decade. Asking rent fell 0.6% to an average $38.79 per square foot, the lowest in four years. (Source: Reis Inc.)

29% – The percentage of U.S. CEOs who said they plan to add jobs in the United States over the next six months, compared with the 21% who plan to cut. This marks the first time since the first quarter of 2008 that more CEOs plan to add jobs than to eliminate them. (Source: Business Roundtable)

$1.6 Billion – The estimated value of the New York Yankees, the most valuable team in Major League Baseball, up 7% from last year. The Boston Red Sox became the second-most-valuable team, at $870 million, surpassing the New York Mets, at $858 million. (Source: Forbes)

830 – The number of video games that have already been developed for Apple’s iPad tablet computer, which went on sale April 3. That number doesn’t include the 25,000 iPad Touch and iPhone games that also can be played on the new gadget. (Source: Reuters)

$1.4 Million – The price paid for the eight-bedroom house next door to the Obama family home on the South Side of Chicago. The previous owners bought the 6,000-square-foot home in 1973 for $35,000. (Source: Associated Press)

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

60% – Sixty percent of consumers aged 28-43 with an income of $75,000 or more have a paid financial advisor. (Source: LIMRA)

$1,433 – The cost of a Continental Airlines round-trip ticket from New York to Omaha, Neb., on the first weekend in May, when Berkshire Hathaway Inc. holds its annual shareholder meeting. It’s four times the regular rate. A New York-Paris round-trip ticket on that same weekend costs $1,142. (Source: Bloomberg)

14-5 – The odds the New York Yankees will defend their World Series title this coming season, the favorites among oddsmakers. Division rival Boston Red Sox are the second choice at 11-2. (Source: Las Vegas Sports Consultants)

20% – Americans’ confidence in U.S. banks remains near its historical low, at 20%—not much different from the 18% of a year ago and 22% of last summer, At the same time, 58% continue to express confidence in the bank they use to do most of their banking. (Source: Gallup)

$4 Billion – The 2009 compensation in fees and capital gains for David Tepper of Appaloosa Management, making him last year’s top-paid hedge fund manager. George Soros ranked second, with a $3.3 billion payday. (Source: The New York Times)

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

20% – Americans’ self-reported daily spending averaged $72 per day last week — up 20% from the prior week and 31% from the same week a year ago, and the most since the week ending Dec. 20. (Source: Gallup)

70% – The percentage of surveyed Americans who support using current bank regulators for consumer protection, backing positions held be the financial industry and Republicans over President Barack Obama’s proposal to establish an independent agency. (Source: Bloomberg News)

81% – The percentage of single-family-home mortgages in Las Vegas that are underwater, or owe more on the home than the property is worth, the most of any U.S. city. (Source: Zillow.com)

20% – A new survey by Allianz Life reports that employed Americans between 35 and 64 are 20 percent more likely to alter their financial strategies than retirees and those over 65. (Source: SeniorMarketAdvisor.com)

60% – Sixty percent of consumers aged 28-43 with an income of $75,000 or more have a paid financial advisor. (Source: LIMRA)

I haven’t made any posts regarding my Monthly Net Worth Statement is a few months. Frankly, it’s been depressing living the Broke Wall Streeter lifestyle. Eating $5 footlongs, cans of tuna, and hot dogs every day apparently doesn’t make you lose weight. I’m now crossing over the 210 pound mark. I wish I had some Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Heath Bar Crunch right now.

So let me start off that, by miracle, my sister is finally employed again. It’s been over 15 months, so we were all breathing a little easier. Well, for a little while anyway. Last week I got a call to “be ready”. I wish I didn’t know what that implied, but layoffs were coming. The last time was 16 months ago, so I guess things haven’t improved. I survived again, but we let another 16% of the company go, which is better than the over 50% last time. The hottest chick in the company was one of them. The top brass will take a 50% pay cut. We were also told no 401(k) match and profit sharing, so I stopped my contributions. I’m going to save as much cash for the near term. I have layoff insurance through CSI which will pay me $1000/month for 3 months in case I get laid off. My projected unemployment benefits will be $550 per week if Governor Christie gets his way (down from $600). It looks like I would get 1 month severance since I haven’t been there for more than 3 years. Oh well, it’s better than nothing. I lost my Top Rated Seller status on eBay since closing my store. My Powerseller status is in jeopardy next. At least my sister can start paying me rent again.

As for the house, it looks like the Zillow estimate is off by a little. Due to lack of interest and anxious sellers, we have units offered at 10% lower than the Zillow estimate. The condo approved replacement porch lights, so I was happy to see these new wrought iron looking lights installed on my front porch and patio. I came home on Friday to find the dishwasher backed up and the garbage disposal making an abnormal sound. Thanks to my sister putting huge strips of meat trimmings and fat down the sink and I even found some inside the dishwasher. WTF?!?!? I fixed the drainage issue thanks to YouTube, baking soda, and vinegar. The garbage disposal works, but it vibrates the entire house. Maybe I can save this project for when I get laid off. No other home maintenance issues.

My retirement funds did OK. Ford is still doing well for my IRA. After the final profit sharing and company match on March 31, hopefully the totals will not go down, but I really don’t like the market right now. If I had any spare $, I’d short this thing, maybe buy puts on SPY.

My Kelley Blue Book car value rose a tiny bit for no reason, but I’ll take it. My air conditioning broke and my new radio is shorting out again. Go Hyundai! There has to be a leak somewhere since every time it rains for a long time, there is a burning electrical smell that fills the cabin when I turn on the radio. The dealer doesn’t see or smell it of course, so I’m stuck with no music on my 2 hour commute. Since gas prices have gone up in the past 2 months, I am looking for another apt I can share during the work week. The monthly commute has gone from $800 in gas and tolls to over $920 due to the gas price going from $2.44/gallon to $2.66/gallon. Not to mention an oil change every 3 weeks.

Things must still be bad since there are so many apartments and roommate ads on Craigslist that have been reposted since March and some from February. Usually there is a line for the monthly parking pass at the main light rail station off the NJ Turnpike since they sell out, but I completely forgot for 2 days and I ended up getting one without a problem. There are much fewer cars in the lot come to think of it. If you look across to the office buildings from my office, you can see more vacant floors than occupied, so things still aren’t looking so great despite the rosy picture CNBC might be spewing lately.

My cash reserve got a nice bounce due to my tax refund of $4400+. I spent some of it to pay off my Capital One card. What’s in your wallet? Not my Cap one card at 21.99%. I didn’t owe state tax, but I need to pay some of my local since I didn’t prepay enough quarterly, so I’ll hold off for another week or so to pay that. No accounts receivable from my website gig. My NCAA bracket entry is doing poorly, but I am still in 3rd place. Fingers crossed. I did turn $25 free play money from an online bookie to $120+ in real cash, so I’ll try to keep that going as far as I can. No poker in Atlantic City this month, but I’m going to research becoming a poker pro for my next career since this whole Wall Street thing isn’t going so well. Good luck until next time.

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

6.41% – The percentage of people who are millionaires in Hawaii, the highest of any state. That amounts to 28,363 households. Mississippi has the lowest percentage of millionaire households, with 3.06% or 33,792. (Source: Phoenix Marketing International)

43% – The percentage increase in the cost of TV ads for the upcoming Masters golf tournament (April 5-11) after Tiger Woods chose that venue to mark his return to golf. With Mr. Woods playing, a 30-second commercial costs about $500,000; without him, it would have cost $350,000. (Source: Bloomberg News)

22% – The percentage decrease in the 2009 median bonus payout to CEOs of companies with at least $1 billion in sales. The median bonus declined to $689,000, from $882,000 in 2008. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

$1.8 B – The estimated cost in “unproductive wages” to U.S. companies last week as a result of workers’ spending time cheering on their teams during the first round of March Madness. (Source: San Jose Mercury News)

14 – The number of companies in the S&P 500 that have chairwomen. Eleven of those women are also chief executives of their companies. (Source: The Corporate Library)

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

36.3% – The percentage of 142 million tax returns filed in 2008, or 51.6 million, that resulted in no federal tax payment, a record. The old record was set in 2006, when 33% of tax filers paid nothing. (Source: Tax Foundation)

64% – Undoubtedly driven in part by her continuing efforts to pass the national health care plan, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remains the most unpopular congressional leader, as she has for months. Pelosi is now viewed unfavorably by 64% of voters, which ties a high reached in August. That number includes 47% with a very unfavorable opinion of the California Democrat. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

81% – An overwhelming majority of Americans (81%) continue to believe that people learn more practical skills through experiences and work after college rather than in college. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

73% – The percentage of employers that don’t anticipate hiring more staff from April through June, the same as in the first quarter, which is the highest since records began in 1972, Just 16% of surveyed employers said they expect to expand their payrolls. (Source: Manpower, Inc.)

$997.07 – The average consumer spending on home entertainment and media (excluding land and cell telephones) in 2009. (Source: Census Bureau)

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

13% – The increase in investment-banking fees for Wall Street firms for in 2009 to $59.8 billion, from $53.1 billion. It was still well below the recorded $86.9 billion hit in 2007. (Source: Bloomberg)

1.26 – The number of microseconds shorter the length of a day is on Earth as a result of the massive earthquake that struck Chile, the seventh-strongest quake in recorded history. A microsecond is one-millionth of a second. (Source: Associated Press)

2,378 – Tiger Woods’ ranking out of 2,500 celebrities in the David Brown Index, which is used by ad Agencies to gauge the abilities of celebrities to influence consumers. Mr. Woods once ranked 117th, putting him near singer Reba McEntire and comedian Robin Williams. His new ranking puts him in the company of rapper Lil’ Kim and rocker Ozzy Osbourne. (Source: Bloomberg)

34% – Thirty-four percent of Americans expect the unemployment rate in the United States to be higher a year from today. That marks a fivepoint increase from December. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

57% – Fifty-seven percent of voters say the health care reform plan now working its way through Congress will hurt the U.S. economy. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

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

57% – Nearly 6 in 10 Americans now say they are spending less money than they used to, and 38% say this reduced spending will be their new, normal spending pattern. (Source: Gallup)

2.6 Million – The number of gallons of water in a shark-filled aquarium in a ritzy Dubai mall that sprung a leak last Thursday, sending shoppers scattering. None of the 33,000 fish inside was harmed. (Source: Associated Press)

75% – Percent of today’s workers expect to continue to work for pay after retirement. Fifty Percent (50%) of those aged 50 to 70 have postponed their expected date of retirement and 66% say they are waiting to retire because they need to rebuild their financial resources. (Source: Metlife Mature Marketing Institute)

$20.3 Billion – Wall Street bonuses paid out last year, up 17% from 2008, but down about a third from 2007. The average bonus for workers in the industry last year was $123,000. (Source: New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli)

702 – The number of U.S. “problem” banks as of Dec. 31, a 27% increase from the 552 banks at the end of the third quarter and the highest level in 17 years. Problem banks account for 8.7% of all U.S. lenders. (Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)

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

51% – Fifty-one percent of American adults believe decisions made by U.S. business leaders to help their own business grow will do more for the economy than decisions made by the government. (Source: Rasmussen Reports)

$203,500 – The median price of a new home in the U.S. decreased to $203,500 in January, the lowest since December 2003, from $208,600 in the same month last year. (Source: Bloomberg)

1 in 5 – In the second quarter of 2009, over one in five households reported they are wireless cellular only–an increase of 16% from the past year. This increase comes from the two-thirds of households who have dropped their landlines as well as from young adults that started new households with just a wireless phone service. (Source: Nielson)

$1 Trillion – The gap between what U.S. states have saved and what they have promised to retired public workers for pension and health care benefits. States have saved $2.35 trillion of the $3.35 trillion owed to workers.(Source: The Pew Center on the States)

10 – The number of consecutive months, through January, during which an index of leading economic indicators rose, pointing to an expanding economy for the first half of this year. The series of gains in the index was the longest since 2004. (Source: Conference Board)