In the course of my work and my personal reading, I come across several cited statistics that I find enlightening, infuriating and sometimes, just plain entertaining! I thought I would share some of the more memorable ones here – hope you either learn something new, or just get a kick out of some of these.
- U.S. technology stocks, currently valued at $9.1 trillion, are now worth more than the entire European stock market. -Business Insider, August 2020
- Seventy percent of food's final retail price comes from transportation, storage, and handling. -Peter Diamandis, Tech Blog
- Asked whether they would rather retire at age 55 and have their basic expenses covered in retirement or work until age 75 and live more extravagantly in retirement, only 23% of retirees said they would prefer to work longer. -ThinkAdvisor, April 14, 2020
- A recent study by KPMG estimated that Americans might drive around 9% less- as much as 270 billion fewer miles a year, as work and shopping habits have evolved. -The Wall Street Journal, July 24, 2020
- Because of the weight of the average tourist, Venice has formally lowered the passenger limit on the city’s iconic gondolas, from six to five. -CNN, July 22, 2020
- The 15 best-paid CEOs in tech have a combined annual income of over $83 billion- which is greater than the entire gross domestic product of 124 countries. -GQ, August 5, 2020
- In America, since the pandemic started, sales of alcohol are up 27%. Additionally, 38% of Americans say they have gained weight. -USA Today August 14, 2020
- Since 1928, the median S&P 500 12-month return under a divided government is 11% versus 8% under a unified government. -CNBC, July 20, 2020
- Sixty-five percent of non-retirees said it was likely they would work at least part time in retirement, but only 7% of retirees surveyed were currently doing so. -ThinkAdvisor, April 14, 2020
- During a normal year, restaurants employ 15.6 million Americans and generate $900 billion in revenue. Industry experts predict that up to 80% might never reopen. -The Week, July 5, 2020
- 9/11 cost insurers $47 billion, while Hurricane Katrina cost them $54 billion. COVID-19 could generate $40 to $80 billion in insurance payouts in the U.S. and over $100 billion internationally. -Axios, July 23, 2020
- Digital advertising on platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Alibaba are expected to account for more than half of the $530 billion global advertising industry in 2020, exceeding, for the first time, the spending on traditional media such as television and newspapers. -The Week, July 10, 2020
- Since 1928, the stock market has accurately predicted the winner of the presidential election 87% of the time, including every single election since 1984. When the S&P 500 has been higher the three months before the election, the incumbent party usually has won; when stocks were lower, the incumbent party usually has lost. -Business Insider, June 29, 2020
- A 70-year-old Seattle man, who spent 62 days in the hospital recovering from Covid-19, received a 181-page bill for $1.12 million. Roughly a quarter of the bill was for drug costs. -The Seattle Times, June 13, 2020
- A government study found that to maintain their lifestyles, 49% of retirees run out of money within five years. -The Motley Fool, June 5, 2020
- The average U.S. grocery store stocks about 33,000 different items, nearly four times as many as it did in 1975. That includes 400 different types of Campbell’s Soup and 40 different varieties of toilet paper. -The Wall Street Journal, June 27, 2020
- There are only two American car companies that have never gone bankrupt: Ford and Tesla. And of the two, there is only one that has never opened fire on a crowd of protesters: Tesla. -Car Throttle
- In a sign of how long some investors expect low rates to last, Austria recently issued government bonds that will only pay 0.88% interest- for the next 100 years. -Bloomberg, June 24, 2020
- New research found that women are less attracted to men who pose with their cat in dating profiles. Men with cats were judged by women to be “less masculine” and “more neurotic.” -NewsBreak, June 22, 2020
- In several states, becoming a barber requires significantly more training than to become a police officer. For example, in North Carolina, licensed barbers need 1,528 hours of training whereas police officers only require 620 hours. In Louisiana, it requires more training to become a licensed manicurist (500 hours) than a police officer (360 hours). -Law Enforcement Today, June 12, 2020
And, finally, here’s a quote from the 14th Century from the Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio regarding his thoughts on the Bubonic Plague that I thought you might enjoy:
“The advice of doctors and the power of medicine appears useless and unavailing. Some maintain that the surest medicine for such an evil disease is to drink heavily, enjoy life’s pleasures, and go about singing and having fun, satisfying their appetites by any means available, while laughing at everything.”
Hope you are staying safe and healthy!