The national health insurance brokerage market is worth $18 billion.
$4 bln spent on prepaid debit cards in 2008
The Mercator Advisory Group estimated that the volume of transactions on general-purpose prepaid cards totaled more than $4 bln in 2008. It forecasts an increase to $7.2 bln in 2009 and $10.8 bln in 2010.
3 bln person-to-person financial transactions in 2008
US noncash person-to-person market in 2008 was $1.1 trln in over 3 bln transactions. Checks are in decline, but they remain the most significant person-to-person payment method, amounting to over $1 trln of the noncash P2P payments volume. In 2008, checks represented over $1.013 trln of the noncash P2P payments in the United States and cost financial institutions what TowerGroup estimates as $255 mln to process.
European mobile services penetration to reach 135% by 2012
Europe as a region has the highest adoption of mobile services at 121% penetration and this is expected to rise to 135% by 2012. At these high penetrations, overall service revenue growth through the handset is expected to decline. However, ARPU is expected to continue growing among business users. In a new market data product from ABI Research, overall business revenue is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 4%, a significant statistic considering that ARPU from consumer mobile services will stay flat at a CAGR of 0.1%.
Top movies in 2008
Rank | Title | Distributor | Total US$ | Open Date |
1 | THE DARK KNIGHT | Warner Bros. | 530,540,885 | 07/18/2008 |
2 | IRON MAN | Paramount | 318,313,199 | 05/02/2008 |
3 | INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL | Paramount | 317,023,851 | 05/22/2008 |
4 | HANCOCK | Sony | 227,946,274 | 07/02/2008 |
5 | WALL-E | Disney | 223,704,223 | 06/27/2008 |
6 | KUNG FU PANDA | Paramount | 215,434,591 | 06/06/2008 |
7 | MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA | Paramount | 165,653,852 | 11/07/2008 |
8 | DR. SEUSS’ HORTON HEARS A WHO | Fox | 154,529,439 | 03/14/2008 |
9 | SEX AND THE CITY | Warner Bros. | 152,647,258 | 05/30/2008 |
10 | QUANTUM OF SOLACE | Sony | 151,620,134 | 11/14/2008 |
Source: Nielsen |
77% of Americans think media is making economic situation worse
77% of Americans believe that the US media is making the economic situation worse by projecting fear into people’s minds. Here are highlights of note:
- Household Income $25k – $35k – 79% answered YES
- Household Income $35k – $50k – 88% answered YES
- Household Income $50k – $75k – 76% answered YES
- Household Income $75k – more – 78% answered YES
- 85% of young adults (18-24 yrs old) answered YES
- 77% of males and females alike answered YES
- 65% of blacks answered YES
1.3 mln fleet management systems deployed in Europe
According to Berg Insight, the number of fleet management systems deployed in commercial fleets in Europe was 1.3 mln in Q4 2008, an increase of 23.8% YTY. Growth is expected to continue in 2009 but the annual growth rate is projected to decrease to 15.4%.
7% of 401k assets are in lifecycle funds
More than 7% of 401(k) assets at year-end 2007 were invested in lifecycle funds and one-quarter of 401(k) participants held lifecycle funds, according to Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI).
20% of teens have sent naked or semi-naked photos of themselves
About a third of young adults 20-26 and 20% of teens say they’ve sent or posted naked or semi-naked photos or videos of themselves, National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. A third of teen boys and 40% of young men say they’ve seen nude or semi-nude images sent to someone else; about a quarter of teen girls and young adult women have. 39% of teens and 59% of those ages 20-26 say they’ve sent suggestive text messages.73% said they knew sending sexually suggestive content “can have serious negative consequences,” yet 22% said it’s “no big deal.”
Thin-film photovoltaics to generate $14 bln in 2015
NanoMarkets projects that after a few lean years in 2009 and 2010 for the TFPV business higher growth rates will return in 2011. The firm’s analysis projects revenues of $4.6 bln in 2011 that will grow to just over $14 bln in 2015.
41 mln Americans to travel more than 50 miles this Thanksgiving
AAA says 41 mln Americans were expected to travel more than 50 miles for the holiday, down about 1.5% or 600,000 people from Thanksgiving 2007. Of those, about 4.5 mln are expected to fly, down about 7% from 2007, while around 33.2 mln will drive, a decrease of about 1%. It is the first decrease in holiday travel nationally since 2002, and the largest since the Thanksgiving that followed the terror attacks on September 11, 2001.
Why people switch credit cards
Reason | Percent of Respondents | |
Lower APR/interest rates | 52% | |
Better rewards/features | 38% | |
Existing banking or other credit card relationhips | 3% | |
Better customer service offered elsewhere | 3% | |
Benefits for holding multiple accounts/cards | 2% | |
Better account management features | 2% | |
Source: comScore |
Number of SBA loans down 30% in 2008
The number of government-backed loans for small businesses fell by 30% in 2008 as owners struggled with tighter credit and a shaky economy, US Small Business Administration reported. The total value of loans fell 13% to $17.96 bln, while average loan size rose by $41,000 to $183,000.
51% of US small business owners say business conditions deteriorated
51% of US small business owners said conditions for their businesses were getting worse, up from 44% in August, the credit card firm said. Another 73% said the U.S. economy was getting worse, up from 60%. Only 7% said they felt the economy was improving, an all-time low for the monthly surveys.
44% of businesses rely on credit cards for financing
Share of businesses using credit cards has jumped from 16% in 1993 to 44% today, according to National Small Business Association. The proportion using bank loans dropped from 45% to 28%. A Federal Reserve survey showed that share of firms using business credit cards jumped from 34% in 1998 to 48% in 2003.
UK population to reach 77 mln in 2060
UK population is expected to increase from its current figure of 61 mln to almost 77 mln in 2060 – a rise of 25%. This would make it the largest population in the EU, ahead of the projections for France (72 mln) and Germany (71 mln). Eurostat predicts the EU population will be 506 mln in 2060, up from 495 mln in 2008. It is expected to peak at 521 mln in 2035 but then decline.
Average US company collects bills in 41 days
The 1,000 largest US public companies in 2007 took 41 days on average to collect payments from their customers, up from 39.7 days a year earlier and 39.2 days in 2001, REL and CFO Magazine found.
Average American tips 19% at a restaurant
Although 75% of surveyors cite poor service as their main complaint, Philadelphians are the most generous tippers in the nation, leaving 19.6% versus the countrywide average of 19.0%. In comparison, diners in New York City tip the average 19.0% and in Los Angeles they tip 18.4%, Zagat found.
45.7 mln Americans uninsured in 2007
The US Census Bureau released a report that estimates that 45.7 mln Americans were uninsured in 2007 compared to 47 mln in 2006. The US Census report found that more people were covered by government health insurance programs – increasing from 27% in 2006 to 27.8% in 2007. During this period, the number of people covered by government health insurance increased to 83 mln up from 80.3 mln in 2006. At the same time, the share of people covered by employer-sponsored health insurance coverage decreased to 59.3% in 2007 from 59.7% in 2006.
6% of US households with income average or above own a timeshare
6% of US households with an annual income of $45,000 or above own a timeshare unit. According to Ernst & Young, sales of timeshares reached $10.6 bln in 2007, up from just $6 bln in 2003.
Virtual economies employ 400,000 people in 2008
In 2008 the virtual game economy employs 400,000 people who earn an average of $145 per month, creating a global market worth about $500 mln, according to Professor Richard Heeks from the University of Manchester. 80% of virtual game workers are based in China.
62.7% of US employees choose PPO plan for their medical insurance
Consumer Driven Health Plans, or CDHPs, increased by 43% from 2007, and now comprise nearly 13% of all plans offered by employers. The%age of employees enrolled in these plans nearly doubled, from six% in 2007 to 11.2% 2008. While preferred provider organizations (PPOs) continue to dominate the market, representing 54% of plans offered by employers and nearly two-thirds (62.7%) of employees enrolled, health maintenance organization (HMO) participation continues to slip, and now represents just 21.3% of plans offered, with only 13.3% of employees enrolled, United Benefits Advisors reported.
Americans have 45 mln frequent-flyer credit cards
US consumers are currently holding about 45 mln credit cards issued by US banks that reward their users with frequent-flier miles, according to The Nilson Report.
Online political activity between Obama and McCain supporters
Obama supporters | McCain supporters | |
Have discovered friends’ political interests or affiliations | 34% | 24% |
Have gotten campaign or candidate information | 27 | 16 |
Have started or joined a political group | 14 | 6 |
Have signed up as a friend of any of the candidates | 12 | 7 |
Source: Pew Internet Project |
Online political activities by age
Online political activities by age | 18-29 | 30-49 | 50-64 | 65+ |
Watched campaign commercials online | 37% | 28% | 26% | 24% |
Watched candidate speeches or announcements online | 35 | 29 | 20 | 19 |
Watched interviews with candidates online | 35 | 27 | 20 | 21 |
Watched online video that did not come from a campaign or news organization | 35 | 25 | 20 | 14 |
Watch video online of the candidate debates | 33 | 23 | 17 | 16 |
Posted your own political commentary or writing | 12 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Source: Pew Internet Project |