Posted on: Sunday, August 5, 2007
Wanted: Bank robbers willing to risk it all for an average $3,000 take
Compiled by John MacIntyre
Total value stolen during the average U.S. bank robbery, according to a study conducted by the FBI: $3,000
WHO ARE YOU?
Number of background checks for new hires conducted by U.S. employers in 2000, according to a study conducted by ADP Screening and Selection Services: 1.9 million
Number of background checks for new hires conducted by U.S. employers in 2006: 5.8 million
DATING GAMES
Percentage of 13- to 17-year-olds who sacrifice watching TV to go on dates, according to a study by OTX and partner eCRUSH into teens' attitudes toward socialization: 58
Percentage who sacrifice Internet surfing to go on dates: 54
Percentage who give up playing video games for a date: 47
POKER RULES
Number of registrants for the 2007 World Series of Poker: 54,288
Total prize pool: $159,796,918
Rank of the WSOP as the world's richest sporting event, with the total prize pool larger than the Indy 500, the Kentucky Derby, the Masters and Wimbledon combined: 1
GLOBAL OPINIONS
Percentage of the world's most engaged citizens (specifically defined because of their marked involvement and societal impact within their country) who indicate that foreign companies have too much influence over the economy in their country, according to a 20-country survey by Corporate News (Ipsos): 71
Percentage who believe their government should be more aggressive in regulating corporations: 75
Percentage who believe that expanding global trade is a "good" thing: 91
Percentage who advocate that investment by global companies in their country is essential for their growth and expansion: 81
Percentage who agree that overall globalization is a good thing for the world: 63
E(XPOSED)-MAIL
Percentage of large U.S. companies (more than 1,000 employees) that employ personnel to read outbound employee e-mail, according to a study by e-mail security and data loss prevention company Proofpoint Inc.: 32.1
Percentage of companies surveyed that employ staff whose primary or exclusive job responsibility is to read or otherwise analyze e-mail content: 16.9
Percentage that have disciplined an employee for violating e-mail policies in the past year: 45.5
EMPTY NEST EGG
Percentage of Americans who are not equipped with an emergency savings fund (equal to three months living expenses), according to the findings of Bankrate's "Financial Literacy 2007": 54
REVOLVING DOOR
Percentage of U.S. organizations that are actively recruiting in 2007, according to a study conducted by Compdata Surveys: 96.1
Total percentage turnover for all industries in 2007: 18.3
Rank of the hospitality industry as the industry with the highest turnover in 2007: 1
Rank of utilities as the industry with the least: 1
IMPORTANT WOMEN
Ranks of Washington, D.C., San Francisco, New York City, Chicago and Dallas among the U.S. cities with the highest percentage of top-level female executives, according to a study conducted by the Greater Washington Initiative: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Percentage of executives who are female in Washington, D.C.: 27
Percentage in Dallas: 20
LOUDMOUTHS
Rank of talking loud in an office among the most annoying workplace habits, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive: 1
Ranks of annoying cell phone ring tones and speakerphones: 2, 3
Percentage of U.S. workers who ranked office loud-talking as the most annoying workplace habit: 32
IDLE THOUGHT
"It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way."
— Rollo May, psychologist
Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.
